# Human endurance **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478 "2003-02-03T12:23:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/1 "2003-02-03T12:23:27Z")
Just curious to know how long a person could go without: A)Food B)Water C)Air also: D)Coldest temperature a person could survive E)Hottest temperature a person could survive Not all at once mind you, more like seperately. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/2 "2003-02-03T12:46:36Z")
Food: The longest ever was 382 days. Water: The record is 10 ½ days. Survival without air: The record is 6.29 minutes. Warmest temperature possible: U.S. Air Force experiments say 400 to 500 F. (A hot sauna is about 280 F) (internal body temp on record- 46.5 C – 115.7 F) Coldest: Internally - Adult who survived was 13.7 degrees C or 56.66 F; the lowest for an infant was 59.2 F – 15.1 C. No idea about externally. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/3 "2003-02-03T12:47:53Z")
A) About three weeks, but if you are going through heavy activilty, your milage may vary. B) About 2 days. Note that the body can get some water from food, particularly juicy fruits. C) About 10 minutes. But human beings don’t use the oxygen in up very fast, so if you lock someone in an airtight room and go away till tommorow, they’re probably fine. D) Do you mean all at once, or over some time? You can go bathe in freezing water for about 5 minutes (and believe me, the Polar Bear Club is not for the faint of heart, take that from personal experience of morning _summertime_ temperatures in INDIANA!) with no ill effects, but you’ll get killed very quickly at that level of constant chill. E) I’m not sure. TO be honest, these temperatures don’t exist in normal conditions on this planet. With enough water, you can survive indefinitely in the hottest environment. Absolute death starts something over a 100 degrees fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/4 "2003-02-03T12:48:16Z")
IANAD… A) Depends how much fat your poor soul has, and their ability to replenish things like salts and liquids. B) Generally considered to be 3 days… I’m sure this has a few dozen “depends on” clauses, as well. C) On average, 3-4 minutes before you pass out, and up to 7-8 minutes before you start to die (I’m pulling this out of the back of my brain from courses a decade ago, so…) D) Nekkid? E) Erm… Nekkid? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/5 "2003-02-03T12:52:06Z")
[quote] Absolute death starts something over a 100 degrees fahrenheit. Note: This was for constant temperatures with inadequate water supplies. This will get you to sunstroke very fast. > [@](#): > > Survival without air: The record is 6.29 minutes. Sorry, but this one is absolutely not true. Some people can hold their breath for this long, for chrissakes! Alright, that was an exaggeration. Still, you can go to ten minutes or so without brain damage. > [@](#): > > About 2 days. Most people pass out around this time. > [@](#): > > Food: The longest ever was 382 days. This tell me someone was drinking some very nutrient-laced water. Liquid food is still food. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/6 "2003-02-03T13:03:14Z")
Hey, I never said I was Jesus or anything. Those first three are supposedly from the Guinness Book of World somethings. Over a year without food does sound a bit suspect. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/7 "2003-02-03T13:07:49Z")
Not to disrespect the whole idea of factual answers to factual questions or anything, sorry. I couldn’t really find much information and I had to go with what I could. If you pass out (which should happen around the 6 minute mark, even if you’re a pearl diver), don’t you automatically start breathing again (unless you’re underwater, like a pearl diver)? Or are we referring to being clinically dead, then resuscitated? ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/8 "2003-02-03T17:25:26Z")
i doubt anyone in the history of the world could go 382 days without consuming any calories. theoretically it’s possible since your body holds enough calories in it for you to sit all day everyday for a year, but many more health problems come into play after like 3 months. ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/9 "2003-02-03T17:28:32Z")
…a fatter person with slow metabolism holds enough, cals ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-endurance/152478/10 "2003-02-03T17:31:33Z")
Any cites for any of these claims?