# How useful would you be in a survival situation? (poll) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054 "2010-08-22T12:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/121 "2010-08-26T20:15:03Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > > [@Tranquilis](#): > > > > Worse, probably. Because the initial excess population is going to radically deplete resources that capable people would need to survive. If, for instance, you were to cut off all electricity (and hence water) plus all external food deliveries to Los Angeles in the middle of summer, _very_ few people are going to make it out, and the mass die-off will drag down a lot of _very_ capable people with it. > > Think of this- every store you have ever seen doesn’t stock more than 2 weeks ahead, unless you are talking a mom and pop general store in a small non-tourist town, and even then, you are likely talking a month, at most. > > Very few people even in the SFBay area have earthquake supplies. > > If the power is out and gas is unavailable, people will begin to die _en masse_ after 2 weeks three days, unless they started walking after week one- and then they better hope the natives are welcoming… Missed the edit- 2 weeks 3 days is extremely optimistic, IMHO, having seen stores in the 2 days preceding hurricane landfall… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/122 "2010-08-26T23:27:47Z")
Hell, modern grocery stores stock 20 _minutes_ ahead, if that. Stop the trucks that keep them supplied and the shelves will be bare in less than a day. Rioting will begin shortly thereafter. **Bricker** , if we happen to be in the same place at the same time when The End hits, I’ll partner with you in a second. Most of my military theory and practice comes from war games, but I understand the basics well enough to slaughter the English Department in paintball. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/123 "2010-08-27T00:26:15Z")
I wouldn’t be useful, really; I don’t know how to farm, make butter, weave or anything (though clothes would surely not be an issue for a very long time if you’re in a town). I wear glasses, but that’s probably not a big deal for many years also, in a town. (I also have asthma, but it’s not bad, and funnily enough my dietary problems wouldn’t be such a big deal, since it’s mainly wheat and we’d end up eating food that was not gluten-based). However, I’m fairly physically fit, don’t panic easily, am reasonably good with first aid and medical knowledge, can put up shelves, cook well, and care for animals, and would learn other things reasonably quickly. Plus, my daughter is one of the healthiest people ever and does have a fair few survival skills for a twelve-year-old, so you’d have to keep me around for her. However, dump me in an unknown city with only the clothes I’m wearing, and I’d be better able to survive than many people. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/124 "2010-08-27T02:11:56Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > ] Hell, even in day hikes we were taught not to go alone, we needed a buddy. And this was for ADULTS, not just kids (Camp Fire leadership training). The thing is, one person can easily become too injured to take care of him/herself, but it’s less likely that both buddies will sprain an ankle or worse. Having just one other person usually more than doubles your chance of survival, unless that other person is a complete drag. … > > I prefer to wander alone, but I don’t do it. Right. I only hike well traveled trails when by myself. I get more adventurous when there’s two of us. And, I am a bit of a survival “expert” having taken several classes by well known real experts, including survival trips. I always carry a decent survival kit, even on day hikes. Even with all that, I am loath to go into the bush by myself- I can easily trip and turn a ankle, and it would be a boring and painful 2 days or so until I was rescued. Yes, I’d be OK, unless I was badly hurt, but why risk it? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/125 "2010-08-27T02:14:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Your ratios are going to be skewed due to sampling error. This is a self-selecting thread. People with no skills and no interest in obtaining them aren’t likely to read and respond. I think the ratio of capable/non-capable in the actual population is going to be on the order of 1/50+. Well, not that bad. After we get rid of the dudes who panic or go into shock(or actually they get rid of themselves), I think half the rest could be molded into a decent group. And, book knowledge or no, it’s hard to tell if you are going to be one of the ones that collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/126 "2010-08-27T02:32:09Z")
Having grown up near the ocean, I think I’m in pretty good shape…near the ocean. I’m screwed in a forest though. Fishing, fire, scavenging, growing plants, cooking, making potable water, and first aid I can do. I dunno why Tom Hanks had such a hard time making fire in the movie. I would go with a piece of glass and sunlight. Oh, and just before the apocalypse hits, I would download instructions on making prison booze, moonshine and homebrew beer. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/127 "2010-08-27T04:01:47Z")
Being on a boat would be a nice way to ride out the chaos, actually. A decent size cabin cruiser or sailboat stocked to the gunwales with provisions would give you quite a few options. Load up the boat, board your crew, and head off-shore until the ugly lessens. With a listen to the radio you could tell where things have started to calm down, and could steer for safer shores. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/128 "2010-08-27T06:13:24Z")
I made a pork loin chop for dinner tonight. Yes, this is relevant. The cut had some fat on it, and I remembered how my grandparents used to take scraps of fat and render it for both cooking and eating. I’ll save bacon grease for cooking, but I don’t save hamburger grease as my grandparents did. For one thing, I buy a much leaner grind than they used to. When I was younger and poorer, though, I used to cut the fat off of round steaks and chuck roasts and render it and use it for cooking grease. And I still know how to do this sort of thing, for any kind of meat. I cut the fat off from the openings of whole chickens, chop it up, mix it with herbs, and insert it between the skin and meat of the chicken breast. Fancier cooks use butter for this, but chicken fat is tasty and free. My point is, I could probably teach survival cooking for a few weeks before I kicked the bucket from not having an insulin source. I can scavenge calories from sources that most people today overlook, because I lived with my grandparents for a while, and THEY grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s. I can also butcher, or help butcher, animals up to deer size…and I’m better at it than my husband Nimrod, even though he’s significantly stronger than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054/129 "2010-08-27T17:23:34Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I made a pork loin chop for dinner tonight. Yes, this is relevant. The cut had some fat on it, and I remembered how my grandparents used to take scraps of fat and render it for both cooking and eating. I’ll save bacon grease for cooking, but I don’t save hamburger grease as my grandparents did. Hell, I still save the grease - in different sealed cans for each pok and beef. My wife thinks I’m a bit nuts, but there’s nothing like beef tallow for maintaining, curing or re-curing a cast iron pan. And bacon grease tastes _good_ when used in a LOT of foods. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-useful-would-you-be-in-a-survival-situation-poll/551054.md?page=6)