# You are transported to a forest. How long until you make a fire?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-transported-to-a-forest-how-long-until-you-make-a-fire/627208>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 4, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-transported-to-a-forest-how-long-until-you-make-a-fire/627208 "2012-07-04T13:19:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**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:** [July 7, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-transported-to-a-forest-how-long-until-you-make-a-fire/627208/41 "2012-07-07T00:07:23Z")

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> [@Rysdad](#):
>
> Do the glasses on my face count? If so, I’m good to go.

Sucks to your ass-mar!

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**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-transported-to-a-forest-how-long-until-you-make-a-fire/627208/42 "2012-07-07T01:13:20Z")

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I’ve seen it done enough in movies and TV that I theoretically know how to do it but I’ve never actually tried. And the finer aspects of it (the exact qualities of the materials involved) might trip me up.

I think I might be tempted to focus my energies on creating a shelter or blanket instead.

Except for bonfires and fires in enclosed spaces, I’ve never found fires to actually be that great at creating warmth unless you are practically right on top of them, and even then your back is still freezing.

I’ve never understood movie scenes where cowboys are sleeping four feet away from a one or two foot wide camp fire. That would be useless in real life for heat. Maybe it’s just for light and to scare away animals.

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**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-transported-to-a-forest-how-long-until-you-make-a-fire/627208/43 "2012-07-07T04:47:07Z")

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> [@jackdavinci](#):
>
> I’ve never understood movie scenes where cowboys are sleeping four feet away from a one or two foot wide camp fire. That would be useless in real life for heat. **Maybe it’s just for light and to scare away animals.**

Bolding mine. That’s mainly what I was thinking of when I wrote the OP.

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