Where are you from?...No originally from?

 

Do you ever really stop to think about where the things we have come from? And I mean other than looking at a product and reading “made in China”. Where does all the raw material come from?

Chewing Gum: The source of the chewiness of chewing gum is chicle, which is found in the sapodilla tree of Central America.

Wool: I’m sure you know that wool comes from sheep. But did you know that the majority of the world’s wool comes from Australian sheep? Yup so that wool sweater you have on, it could come from Australia. That should make you feel all warm and cozy!

Perfume: This fact makes sense to me. If I were to guess where the majority of perfume comes from I would say Europe. And would be right…kind of. The flowers used to make perfume are grown in the south of France!

Vanilla: I love a great Vanilla ice-cream! And it’s cool to know that most of the world’s vanilla beans are grown in Madagascar.

Bauxite: That aluminum foil in your kitchen could originate from Guinea, Africa. Bet you would have never guessed that! Bauxite is a major mineral used to make aluminum.

Copper: One of the very rich copper belts in the world is found in Zambia, Africa.

So maybe now you can say that the contents of your house are international! To find the origins of more materials, go to http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0770181.html .

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Going...Going...GONE.

I personally have many places to visit on my bucket list! But what if I tiold you that some of these places may not be around when you finally have the time and money to venture far and wide. According to factmonster.com there are some places in the world that are quickly disappearing.

Glaciers and Glacier National Parks

If you dream of witnessing the natural beauty of Glacier national parks in the USA or Canada, you may need to hurry up because they are swiftly disappearing. This is caused by the overall increase in temperature. Whether or not you believe it’s Global Warming, the fact is that in 1850, there were 150 glaciers. Now we have only 26. So buy those tickets and book vacation time because by 2030 they may not be there.

Venice Italy

Oh Venice! The city of love! Well we may soon be calling it the underwater city. Due to repeated floods, the city is estimated to be sinking at a rate of 2.5 inches every ten years. So I hope your marriage proposals are in order for the near future because it looks like Venice may be going under.

The Dead Sea

I’m sure you’ve heard of this one! The dead sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world.The salt content is so high that you can float in it with very little effort. But due to evaporation and the increased need for its water sources by the native population, the Dead Sea is losing about three feet of water each year.

For more disappearing locations, check out http://www.factmonster.com/world/travel/top-vanishing-destinations.html

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The Thirst is so Real!

So you wake up in the morning, you take a 15 minute shower. You get dressed, and then you brush your teeth and wash your face. You go to your kitchen and make some coffee or tea. Let’s say this all took maybe 45 minutes to an hour.

Did you know that in this hour you have used more clean water than many families around the world would use all day?

Not to mention the fact that you didn’t have to do any work to access this water.

Can you imagine walking for hours just to reach a small, murky body of water that is filled with impurities and bacteria that could potentially kill you if not treated properly and ingested?

Okay so maybe that seems unbelievable to you. Or maybe you’re thinking, “oh yeah sure, here comes the whole look at developing countries and make me feel guilty thing”.

So let’s look at something a little closer to home shall we?

·         On average Canadians use double the water used in European countries.

·         Singapore and Munich that use as little as 100 litres of water per person each day without lowering their quality of life.

·         The average hamburger (yeah that Big Mac you had last week) requires 2,400 litres of water to produce.

·         Believe it or not, there are 10 million people in developed countries without access to safe water. That includes the USA and Canada.

·         More than 3.4 million people die each year from water sanitation related issues.

So just think about it next time you want to leave the water running whiles you brush your teeth. Despite what we like to believe, water is NOT an unlimited resources and not everyone can just get a cold glass of it when they’re thirsty.

 

Sources:

http://past.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=how_canadians_take_water_for_130911

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/

http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

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Arranging it

There are some things about different cultures that we often find hard to understand. Sometimes we see certain customs are restricting and totally negative. One of these customs id arranged marriages. In a society where individuals are encouraged to make decisions for themselves and where the desire for equality is in high demand, generally, arranged marriage seems to go against all of that.

But why would countries continue to follow this custom if it was totally negative? They’re must be some positive sides to it that maybe us North Americans just can’t see at first glance.

1.       Getting a partner is guaranteed:

Think about it, if you’re really shy or awkward or simply not socially inept, the likelihood of you going on dates are low. And even if you manage to go on a date, your chances of having a successful date are even lower. With arranged marriages, the pressure is off.

2.       Parental approval:

There will be none of that forbidden love because your parents will approve of your partner. Obviously, because they picked him/her! Not to mention, with parental support comes willing babysitters at your disposal.

3.       Lower divorce rate:

I didn’t know this but in arranged marriages, commitment is the first and foremost responsibility. The couples make a very strong effort to think as a couple. They try to make decisions that will benefit them both as well as both their families. They are not blinded by emotions because those emotions are developed later on in the relationship.

These are just a few of the advantages. Now I’m not saying that you should go out and beg your family to pick a partner for you but maybe this gives you a bit of insight into other customs and beliefs.

After all, people must keep doing it because it’s been working for centuries!

Sources:

http://spotonlists.com/life/top-10-advantages-of-arranged-marriages/

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art40791.asp

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The Lottery of Life

Although I often talk about the issues in the world and how North Americans for the most part don’t have to deal with this issues that plague so many, I don’t say these things to make people feel bad about what they have. I just like to learn about these things and share them.

Because no one has control of the place they are born. I was born in Canada. I got lucky. I won the lottery of life.

On the grand scheme of the globe, very few people are born in developed countries. A few things play a part in this.

Mainly, the difference in cultural norms. In many developing countries, it is normal to have many children. But in North America the average number of kids per family is roughly 2.

Besides social norms, cultural differences also affect the odds of the lottery of life, for example, male dominance in society. And I know that male dominance is prevalent everywhere but unlike in North America where women are able to speak their minds and are equally educated, some countries don’t have this.

This is all to say that you should never feel bad about where you are born. Some people get lucky and others not so much. But what you do with the cards you’ve been dealt is what matters!

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Schoolin' Life

Oh School! Many people around the world are fortunate enough to get the opportunity to go. And just like culture and customs vary per country, so does school.

I came across a website that highlights the general school year of a few different countries in the world.

Australia:

·         The school year last from late January to mid December.

·         The school year is divided into 4 terms that last between 9 to 11 weeks.

·         There are two weeks of vacation between terms.

·         The classes usually have around 18 students.

·         They often use an integrated system where they mix for example, math and science by taking measurements and studying coral reefs.

Costa Rica: (If you recall my post on happiness, Costa Rica was placed first on overall country happiness. Does that mean their students are happier about school too?)

·         Classes usually have around 28 students.

·         Students must wear a uniform.

·         Students in Costa Rica start college at the age of 15. (Most North Americans have just started high school at this age!)

·         The school year last from February till December.

·         Costa Rica is one of the most literate counties in South America.

Iran:

·         The school year last from September till June (Just like Canada).

·         Classes usually have 27 students.

·         Boys and girls are taught separately. The Boys have male teachers and the girls have female teachers.

·         Religious studies are required.

 For more info on these countries and others, check out the link below.

http://www.factmonster.com/world/statistics/school-years.html

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"Mom, I'm STARVING!"

 

Do you ever have those days where you haven’t eaten much, and you’re grumpy and uncomfortable and when someone asks you what’s wrong, you tell them that you’re STARVING?

There are very few things worse than being hungry. But if I were to tell you that I’ve ever truly been starving, I’d be lying.

Sadly, 1.02 billion people in the world know what it’s like to starve. 1 in 7 people will go to bed hungry tonight. And even they are the lucky ones compared to the 25,000 people who die every day from hunger related causes.

Living in a developed country, it’s really easy to see problems like hunger and immediately think of the poor people living in faraway lands. But this problem affects people right here in Canada.

93,000 Canadians visit the food bank each month. 38% percent of these Canadians are children and youth.

With such a high need for food around the world, you’d think it would be highly valued right? Wrong.

Each year 4 billion tons of food goes to waste.

In 2010, the USA wasted 33.79 million tons of food. To put that into perspective, that is enough food to fill the Empire State building 91 times. (Keep in mind that some of these are American facts but similar numbers can be applied to Canada.)

This is just some food for thought… hahaha see what I did there! But in all seriousness, next time you decide to order a portion of food you know you won’t be able to finish or the next time your mother cooks something you’re not too fond of, think of these statistics.

Sources:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/21-crazy-facts-about-food-waste-in-america.html

http://www.thefoodbank.ca/en/news/hunger_count.asp

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/how-much-in-food-do-canadians-waste-a-year-think-billions/article4580509/

http://www.stophungernow.org/hunger-facts

Picture from Google