--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody was going along thinking that…" description: "\"Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. So you can't really p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/margaret-atwood-40_bangs_everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that_70765.jpg" --- # Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like… ![“Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. So you can't really predict the future, but you can say, "Boy, are those glaciers ever melting." You can measure that, and you can say, "When they're all melted there…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/margaret-atwood-40_bangs_everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that_70765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/margaret-atwood-40_bangs_everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that_70765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/margaret-atwood-40_bangs_everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that_70765.jpg) > “Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. So you can't really predict the future, but you can say, "Boy, are those glaciers ever melting." You can measure that, and you can say, "When they're all melted there won't be any Athabasca River," and you can say, "What will happen to the oil sands then?" because you need a lot of water to make that oil. "Where's that going to come from?" You can say things like that.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker highlights how unexpected events, like 9/11, can shift focus to long‑term environmental trends, using glacier melt as a measurable sign of climate change and its downstream economic impacts. **In simple terms:** Unexpected crises expose hidden climate risks. Key Takeaway Climate change has tangible economic consequences. Themes Climate change Uncertainty Economic impact Resource dependency Environmental measurement Mood Reflective Urgent Type Analytical Predictive When to use this quote - Policy planning - Corporate risk assessment - Public awareness campaigns - Academic research Key Concepts Glacier melt Water scarcity Oil sands production Future prediction Practical Applications - Integrating climate data into financial models - Developing water‑efficient extraction technologies Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prepare for climate‑driven resource shortages? - What role should governments play in mitigating these risks? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Glaciers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glaciers/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Twins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twins/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Glaciers melting in the dead of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muse/glaciers-melting-in-the-dead-of-night/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muse/) > [Just because you see pictures of glaciers falling into the ocean doesn't mean anything bad is happening. This is something that happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/just-because-you-see-pictures-of-glaciers-falling-into-the-ocean/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [You might not see climate change as an immediate threat to your job, your community, or your families," Kerry said. "But let me tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/you-might-not-see-climate-change-as-an-immediate-threat-to-your-job/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [“Science Class Would you invent some irrational explanation for we lost souls that the glaciers aren’t really melting at all, that they are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-of-mayberry/science-class-would-you-invent-some-irrational-explanation-for-we/) Diogenes of Mayberry > [Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in. They are going to ask what did you do about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/future-generations-are-not-going-to-ask-us-what-political-party-were/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [The irony of environmental opposition to the Keystone XL project is that stopping the pipeline to the U.S. will not stop production in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoeven/the-irony-of-environmental-opposition-to-the-keystone-xl-project-is/) [John Hoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoeven/) > [I would urge Rachel Notley to be more like Peter Lougheed. Lougheed had a sensible plan for the oil sands, which involved ancillary infrastructure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/i-would-urge-rachel-notley-to-be-more-like-peter-lougheed-lougheed/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [If you're serious about climate targets, you don't build and expand the oil sands and move from coal-fired electricity to inefficient fracked gas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/if-you-re-serious-about-climate-targets-you-don-t-build-and-expand/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [The Keystone XL project has built strong safety measures into its design with the newest technology. Additionally, 80 percent of the new Canadian oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoeven/the-keystone-xl-project-has-built-strong-safety-measures-into-its/) [John Hoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoeven/) > [Global warming is one of those things, not like an earthquake where there's a big bang and you say, 'Oh, my God, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/global-warming-is-one-of-those-things-not-like-an-earthquake-where/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [We in the Himalayas have the problem of glaciers melting away and we had to make our own glaciers and I don't consider them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/we-in-the-himalayas-have-the-problem-of-glaciers-melting-away-and-we/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [I'm with the spirit of Earth-Day-yet-to-come. Nobody can really predict the future, all you can do is look at trends, and that could change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-with-the-spirit-of-earth-day-yet-to-come-nobody-can-really/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I consider part of lower Manhattan to be hallowed ground. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers... and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shuster/i-consider-part-of-lower-manhattan-to-be-hallowed-ground-nearly-3-000/) [David Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shuster/) > [God's irony, that in order to fight and defeat the threat of terrorism, we shall have to be clear about the principle of justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/god-s-irony-that-in-order-to-fight-and-defeat-the-threat-of-terrorism/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [I remember, many years ago, coming over the Brooklyn Bridge in the night and seeing the skyline of Manhattan, with the Twin Towers. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/i-remember-many-years-ago-coming-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-in-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Bangs quotes > [The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-levchin/the-very-first-company-i-started-failed-with-a-great-bang-the-second/) [Max Levchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-levchin/) > [Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/between-the-idea-and-the-reality-between-the-motion-and-the-act-falls/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [And you've actually watched it yourself?' I asked. 'Willingly?' Sure. I had to see it, you know? Besides we should be safe. Only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/and-you-ve-actually-watched-it-yourself-i-asked-willingly-sure-i-had/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-owned-an-expensive-camera-that-required-thought-before-you-pressed/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I give money to Unicef because I like the 'bang for your buck' aspect. Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [how can he love me then not? He went,he ran. And I cannot bring him back. Yet I left the door metaphorically wide open,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-north/how-can-he-love-me-then-not-he-went-he-ran-and-i-cannot-bring-him/) [Freya North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-north/) > [ Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre, the guys who run that show \[Big Bang Theory\], are really funny and really smart, and the cast is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/bill-prady-and-chuck-lorre-the-guys-who-run-that-show-big-bang-theory/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [Working on television is like being shot out of a cannon. They cram you all up with rehearsals, then someone lights a fuse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/working-on-television-is-like-being-shot-out-of-a-cannon-they-cram/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I don't trust anyone who hasn't been self-destructiv e in some way, and who hasn't gone through some sort of bout of self-loathing. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-don-t-trust-anyone-who-hasn-t-been-self-destructiv-e-in-some-way/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [She folded her arms and then shouted, "Right you thieving scunners! How dare you steal Miss Treason's funeral meats!" "Oh, waily, waily, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/she-folded-her-arms-and-then-shouted-right-you-thieving-scunners-how/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I think that the insane desire one has sometimes to bang and kick grumblers and peevish persons is a Divine instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hugh-benson/i-think-that-the-insane-desire-one-has-sometimes-to-bang-and-kick/) [Robert Hugh Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hugh-benson/) Browse all 462 Bangs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. 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