10 Things You May Not Have Known and Poverty

1. The Philippines used to be an American territory. 

2. The word soccer comes from the word association. 

3. India is the world's largest democracy (!!!). 

4. The Golden Gate Bridge is the world's number one spot for suicides (which makes me question why it's not taken down. I suppose money trumps all). 

5. Cats don't have collarbones. 

6. What do Julius Caesar and Oprah Winfrey have in common? They're both lefties! 

7. They call a group of kangaroos a mob. 

8. In Sweden there is hotel made of ice. It must be rebuilt every year. 

9. Human eyes never grow. 

10. Hot water weights more than cold water. 

The Ice Hotel in Switzerland.
Ice Hotel Website

I found many of these facts here. Some of it is not the sort of stuff I would personally be interested in knowing (read: it's inappropriate). However, most of the information on there is fun to know, and you can simply ignore the other facts (like me!). 

In other news, has anyone been following the typhoon in the Phillippines? My dad’s currently in Hong Kong, and it’s big news over there. They’re estimating that over 10,000 people have been killed in one town alone, which is approximately three times the amount killed in 9-11. I find it very sad. If the same thing happened in America, the number of casualties would’ve been under 1,000, but since most of the Phillippines is very rural without a good road system or properly built structures, the number is a lot higher. 

They say that money can’t buy happiness, but that is complete and utter rubbish. Maybe that’s true in America, where no one is truly poor, but when you’re living in an impoverished country like the Phillippines, an extra one-thousand dollars means the world. It means being able to buy food. It means being able to live in more expensive areas that aren’t as prone to natural disasters. It means being able to buy ultra-expensive supplies and food after a natural disaster. It means being able to afford a ride out of the effected area.

It means EVERYTHING. 

On the news (or Oprah, I can’t remember) there was a story about how happy people in India were, despite the fact that many of them were poor. The lady described how going to India ‘enlightened’ her. My dad looked at me and made the most hilarious face. 

“ India is not the sort of place where I feel enlightened,” he said. 

I’m tired of this new western idea that poor people are happy. They’re not. No human is happy hungry. No human is happy watching their child die because of a lack of medical care, and it’s stupid to think they are. If you really want to know the secret for happiness, stop looking for it. 

They look so happy, don't they?
Image courtesy of Borgen Project

Note: Feel free to disagree with me in the comments! I realize that I am not the world's leading expert on this subject. I haven't lived through poverty, so I don't really know what it's like, but I'm still going to try to understand.