# How common was "Draw straws to determine who will be eaten" in maritime disasters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761 "2022-07-11T14:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/41 "2024-04-22T20:58:19Z")
Why would the brain be especially desirable? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/42 "2024-04-22T21:27:44Z")
High sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/43 "2024-04-23T07:18:37Z")
Drinking blood won’t keep you alive any more than drinking seawater will. It’s not water! I agree with those who find it suspicious that the only reports of this are from survivors. “Yep, we totally drew straws. It was completely fair!” I’m reminded of a Stephen King story about a guy who was stranded on a desert island who just happened to be a master surgeon and capable of amputating his own limbs, one by one… ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/44 "2024-04-23T07:59:31Z")
The brain is filled with essential fatty acids (60% of brain is fat), or the most dense macronutrient, while also easy to digest and tasting good. It really is the best part. When I’ve been in voluntary semi-starving wilderness conditions, just a morsel of fat ingested feels like pure life poured into my system. A slice of muscle tissue really does not. Even though the brain uses lots of glucose to function, I don’t think it’s high in sugar content in a dietary sense. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/45 "2024-04-23T13:52:54Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Drinking blood won’t keep you alive any more than drinking seawater will. It’s not water! Not true. Sea water is about 3x saltier than blood. In fact almost by definition it’s safe, as water becomes unhealthy to drink when it has a higher salinity than your blood (of course the blood of someone who has been lost at sea and is dying of dehydration prob doesn’t have sodium in the normal range) Also the actual medical facts are irrelevant, sailors thought Drinking blood would safely relieve thirst (it was part of the defense in the Mignonette trial) so it was a big part of the “custom of the sea” that was drawing lots, whether its true or not. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/46 "2024-04-26T09:34:03Z")
To gain their knowledge, of course. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X7J12_877Kk/hqdefault.jpg "Eat your brains and get your knowledge") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7J12_877Kk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761.md?page=2)