# You are the only one alive on earth. What do you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840 "2014-05-20T16:48:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/61 "2014-05-21T15:06:02Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Such as…? > > Find the optical glass tree? 😃 [Yes!!!](http://www.pendemonium.com/images/inkwells/corning_glasstree.gif) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/62 "2014-05-21T15:16:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [Yes!!!](http://www.pendemonium.com/images/inkwells/corning_glasstree.gif) Beauty! I love that artist (whose name I’m blanking on). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/63 "2014-05-21T15:20:15Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Beauty! I love that artist (whose name I’m blanking on). Phipp’s Conservatory had a Chihuly (sp?) show recently. Cool stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Crowbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbro)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/64 "2014-05-21T15:47:50Z")
Find some objects who would become my new friends. Maybe name one of them Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/65 "2014-05-21T19:27:02Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > The scenario gives you your best set of clothes, so I think we can include glasses in that. > No chocolate factories though. According to the OP, though, it doesn’t seem as if you’ll be waking up in your tuxedo or best formal gown. > [@Earth001](#): > > You wake up one morning to your bed. You noticed that everything is gone. No people and everything that is man made is gone except for your bed and **the best set of clothes to protect you.** What do you do? So, depending on the climate where you are, you’ll be wearing the best set of clothes to protect you from the elements. A heavy coat, hat, and boots if it’s winter or light, loose clothing if you’re in a warm weather environment. Any clothing that would enhance your chances for survival as I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/66 "2014-05-21T19:41:29Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > According to the OP, though, it doesn’t seem as if you’ll be waking up in your tuxedo or best formal gown. No opera glasses then? What a predicament! ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/67 "2014-05-21T20:15:10Z")
Put on my favorite jazz albums and relax as long as the power grid holds up 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dublos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f08c70/32.png) [@dublos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dublos)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/68 "2014-05-21T20:25:05Z")
hmmm… if everything _on_ by bed remains… I have sharp pointy things at my disposal, so that’s handy. By that same logic, I’d have my cats, but I’d have to find a way to _keep_ them and not have them running off chasing wildlife. My bed disassembles pretty easily and can form the starting point of a shelter. I live in a pretty urban environment, so what’s next is really going to depend on what’s replaced all the buildings/freeways/sidewalks, etc. I would definitely have to start practicing with my throwing knives. (thankfully the instructional book I bought also sits on the bed’s headboard with the knives) Of course if it’s winter I’m likely dying of hypothermia before I even wake up. Overall, I would start walking south, but I have no clue how far I would make it, or how long it would take me to conclude I was alone. I’m pretty sure depression would set in pretty quickly after the initial panic wore off. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/69 "2014-05-21T20:29:22Z")
Since I rely upon powerful contact lenses and glasses to see decently, almost the first thing I’d do is be shat out in chunks by wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/70 "2014-05-21T20:40:16Z")
I’d probably die within a week. I don’t have the skills needed to survive in the wild. We had a thread like this before and one guy insisted he had all of the skills needed to rebuild civilization. He insisted that starting from nothing, he would be forging iron tools within a month. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/71 "2014-05-22T02:30:50Z")
A thought just popped into my head - maybe I’d walk around outside in the nude. I’d break into everyone’s houses to look for interesting things. I’d look for generators so I can use electrical equipment. I’d get a car and travel to the nearest big city. I’d live off canned and dried food and some fruit that I find in people’s gardens or farms. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/72 "2014-05-22T02:36:55Z")
I’d look for places with solar power but also bring along a generator in my car just in case. I’d watch DVD’s like “24” (I’ve only seen a couple of seasons) and visit libraries to look for helpful or interesting books. I’d try and learn how to install solar power cells and move them over to the center of the city in the mall. I’d use trucks to transport food and TV’s, etc to my main home in the mall. I’d sleep in hotels. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/73 "2014-05-22T02:45:05Z")
Read the OP. No man made things are left behind. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/74 "2014-05-22T02:52:37Z")
This isn’t the Walking Dead thread! ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/75 "2014-05-22T02:54:55Z")
look for food and other people find or make a shelter I wouldn’t know I was the only person left have a good cry then keep looking for food and other people ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/76 "2014-05-22T02:55:11Z")
I think I would be able to enjoy nature for a change with no worries about tresspassing. If I cold live long enough to get settled in I suspect I could be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/77 "2014-05-22T02:56:10Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Read the OP. No man made things are left behind. They’re in denial. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/78 "2014-05-22T03:39:44Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Read the OP. No man made things are left behind. What!? Well I guess I’d have to be a hunter-gatherer. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/79 "2014-05-22T04:04:10Z")
There’s a rule of thumb in survival situations called the rule of threes. You can live for 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. People always start frantically searching for food. That is the last thing on your list, literally. The first thing is to make sure you will have shelter from the sun and/or heat and/or cold and/or damp. Yes, some places are temperate paradises during some parts of the year where you can walk around naked day and night. Most places on Earth aren’t. A few hours walking around in the rain can give you hypothermia. A few hours walking around in the sun can give you heatstroke. A night spent cold and wet can kill you. So the most important thing to do is construct some shelter to protect you from the elements, whatever your location is. You need something to keep the rain off, shade from the sun, protection from the wind, elevation off the ground to prevent the ground from conducting your heat away in the night. A bit of scouting around to look for water–hint, head downhill–might be in order if the climate isn’t too miserable. But you cannot underestimate how dangerous heat stroke or hypothermia can be, if it’s really hot or cold or wet you have to protect yourself first. Then worry about water. If you can’t make a fire to boil the water, expect to eventually get damn sick from drinking contaminated water. If you’re by yourself, diarrhea can dehydrate you quickly, and if you try to replace fluids with contaminated water you just make things worse. Get dehydrated with no one to help you and you quickly become to weak to move, and you’re dead. Only after you have shelter and clean water should you worry about food. Yes, you’ll be hungry and low energy and groggy and weak with no food after a day or two. But you won’t die from just a few hours without food, like you can from hyper/hypothermia, or a few days without water. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840/80 "2014-05-22T04:24:17Z")
There wouldn’t be any pots to boil water in. Maybe I should start sleeping with survival equipment in my bed in case this happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-the-only-one-alive-on-earth-what-do-you-do/688840.md?page=5)