"There must be something in the water" and variations thereof is a common saying in the west, too. It's often heard as a response to learning that families of tall people or smart people come from the same town.
Let me play the devil's advocate for a just moment: water in the west is much more regulated. I doubt that some small difference in our water's mineral levels would change much in the brain. Something like chemicals or harsh or bacteria from heavily polluted water might be really different. Rivers downstream from pharmaceutical labs, heavy industrial area, etc. could mess up your body's balance.
> Let me play the devil's advocate for a just moment: water in the west is much more regulated. I doubt that some small difference in our water's mineral levels would change much in the brain.
Different water softness, different strains of bacteria. Back to step one.
If there were no regulations, the water in those cities would be the same to this day and wouldn't have made the headlines. A law is only as good as it is enforced. The Flint water crisis should be big enough of a wake up call to put the focus on the EPA and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and hopefully avoid similar issues in the future.
The situation is miles better than it was in the 1950s thanks to those regulations.
