Global Q&A: ‘What amazing fact do you know that you think most people don’t know?’

Andy Lamb, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (The Epoch Times)

From stock market tips to profound insights on the power of positive thinking, each person has some knowledge he or she feels is not widely known. Epoch Times reporters from Dubai to Ireland garnered some of this knowledge when they asked locals:

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hemant Odhrani, 18, UG Student What I think I know and most people don’t is that whatever happens all around them happens based on what they think. And they really don’t figure that fact out. I had realized this fact when I looked through my past and felt that these were the things I really wanted in my life. For example, if you want to make new friends, you imagine how your friends would be and the next day you will see the friends you had imagined have come to you. And I really figured this magic out by reading a book called “The Secret” that I really recommend people to read.

Ubatuba, SP, Brazil Erica Maggiorini, 30, Masters Student When I was doing consulting work in Bahia, I found that 1 ton of land could only hold 1 gram of gold. I made a fauna survey at the edge of a forest where tailings from the extraction of gold were deposited. We cannot imagine the environmental impact [linked to] human vanity.

Athens, Greece Nasma Hlaihel, 29, Jewelry Designer and Crafter I think it’s amazing the fact how billions of humans are so well trained, controlled, obedient, and patient in the unfair world we live in. Humans put up with incredible stress and are capable of leaving their heads down and their mouths shut all their lives. I find that pretty amazing knowing how much power each one of us carries inside.

New York USA Nishant Tyagia, 30, Finance Student That the next major war will be over water. When my family and I travel back to India, I see how the water levels in the Ganges River are decreasing a lot and the river seems to be drying up. Also with the conflict between Pakistan and India right now, if either side decides to close it off, it would affect billions of people living in the countries throughout the area. Aside from this, the pollution the river is facing is getting worse and worse. If a change is not made, people may not be able to use the water even if they do have a filtration system.

Kureelpa, Australia Sue Cosentino, 60, Marketing We have shares in a big copper mine called CDU, which is a copper mine in Cloncurry. We just went up there for the AGM [Annual General Meeting] last week. The shares are $4 a share at the moment, and they will be paying dividends for $4 a share. Most people don’t know what is up there. My husband grew up there; he has known about it all his life. We’ve been following it for seven years and we’ve bought the shares at about $2.

Coleraine, North Ireland (Visiting Australia) John Milliken, 73, Retired Distillery Manager I think people have to take more account of what they are doing. … I get more concerned when I see things happening that never happened before as far as tsunami, flooding. Parts of Australia have been flooded. … The same things are happening back home. I can’t ever remember places in Northern Ireland being flooded in my 73 years. There’s something working there and we need to take more heed to that. Unfortunately as an individual your voice is very seldom heard. It’s up to the governments, they’re the people who really need to take notice and do something about it.

Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “What was the most important event in your country over the last year?” The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.