# You have one year to prepare for the downfall of civilization. What's your plan? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399 "2008-05-23T19:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/41 "2008-05-24T03:14:55Z")
My solution is simple. Stock up on fishing line and fish hooks. Nature provides the rest. Oh and big bunker of antibiotics, medical supplies, and a solar powered trickle charger for my laptop. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/42 "2008-05-24T03:16:47Z")
oh teach me to post before reading the op, scratch the trickel charger. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/43 "2008-05-24T03:32:49Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I buy a quick acting, relatively painless poison and take it just after everything fails. I don’t have the skills to live in a world like that, I don’t think I’ll be able to pick up such skills, and I don’t want to live in a world like that. [/QUOTE] That pretty much sums it up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/44 "2008-05-24T03:43:53Z")
Civilization would come back faster than we might think, I think. From the OP, the printing press would be maybe available, somewhere else in the world, perhaps. Even so. Animal skins for parchment. It doesn’t have to be good ink. Failing that, clay is pretty common stuff - we just need to start using it again. There’s a few of us who won’t forget mathematics that soon. Won’t exactly remember it all, either, but it comes back. Other basic ideas of civilization won’t go away quickly - put the latrines downstream. Soap may be a little scarce at first, but even so, bathing won’t kill you. Not the internet, but semaphore works well enough. Not perfect, but salting and drying will preserve the meat. We can get around with sailboats. Some kind of clock will be necessary if we want to navigate any distance, so let’s leave ourselves some instructions on that. Me, what will I do? Um, maybe set up a stash of corn, beans, and jerky. Maybe move to a small town, avoid the worst hassles of collapse. Try to learn enough to make myself useful to others. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/45 "2008-05-24T03:57:34Z")
[QUOTE=Civil Guy] …Not the internet, but semaphore works well enough… [/QUOTE] But dammit, you can distribute porn by semaphore! ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/46 "2008-05-24T04:17:06Z")
Are you saying that’s a bad thing? (Considers…) Yeah, I can maybe imagine how that gesticulating stuff could get a guy’s fantasies working. If done by someone sexy… and yet, innaccessible… oh hell, now I’m just going to have to ride over there and give her some more lessons… ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/47 "2008-05-24T04:22:01Z")
I read the thread title and thought that “prepare for” meant “plot how to bring about”, within one year. That would have been tricky. But doable. Oh well, catch you next time. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/48 "2008-05-24T04:32:50Z")
Well, how far does this whole “nothing from after 1439” thing go? Does a good, purely mechanical compound bow fail? How about barbed wire? No one made that in 1439, but it’s hard to imagine a catastrophic barbed wire failure. The knives you can buy nowadays are of steel orders of magnitude better than anything from back then- do they fail? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/49 "2008-05-24T04:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] Well, how far does this whole “nothing from after 1439” thing go? Does a good, purely mechanical compound bow fail? How about barbed wire? No one made that in 1439, but it’s hard to imagine a catastrophic barbed wire failure. The knives you can buy nowadays are of steel orders of magnitude better than anything from back then- do they fail? [/QUOTE] OP sayeth: Barbed wire is all destroyed. Likewise the compound bow. I mean, this is only accomplishable by magic, right. But FC is a lazy programmer, so he doesn’t bother to make sure that all compounds and alloys that didn’t exist back in the pre-Guternberg day are destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/50 "2008-05-24T05:13:44Z")
Move to a polynesian island, lay on a lot of fishing supplies. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/51 "2008-05-24T06:09:19Z")
I’m going to spend all my money on toothpaste, soap, dental floss, toothbrushes, and other non-perishables and a trailer to cart them around with and go live with **elelle**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/52 "2008-05-24T07:42:47Z")
Does the population change on hot fudge sunday? If not, in addition to the ideas already posted, I’m setting up somewhere isolated enough to ride out the aftermath, it’s gonna be BAD ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/53 "2008-05-24T10:47:10Z")
I’m right in the middle of _The Protector’s War_ (the sequel to _Dies the Fire_) right now. So here’s my plan: –Murder all Medieval History professors –Move to central Oregon –Become a Wiccan –Buy a kilt –Walk around muttering “merry meet” and “by the Lord and Lady” and wait for Juniper Mackenzie to come along. ---
**Author:** ![Jpal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a698b9/32.png) [@Jpal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpal)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/54 "2008-05-24T11:09:26Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Ethics, schmethics…we’re talking survival here. [/QUOTE] I don’t know, surely capturing beautiful female slaves to till your garden would be wrong even in a survival situation? But if you disagree, will you capture me one? I can pay you in mason jars. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/55 "2008-05-24T12:36:35Z")
Start my own religion,get as many converts as I can to do all that farming,fighting and fishing stuff for me when the balloon goes up. Also look around my general area for people who might be potential competition/enemies and find out their weaknesses and mindsets. Cause “accidents” to happen to as many of them as I can. Make as many potential allies for the future as I can. Er sorry those previous lines were all typos of course. It SHOULD have read ,learn farming,archery etc.as I’m sure you’ll understand…if you know whats good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/56 "2008-05-24T13:26:24Z")
^^ **Lust4Life** –similar to what I had in mind when I started reading the thread: find the finest plastic surgeon money can buy (take out a loan) and get myself Jesus-fied. Of course I would need more things to complete the illusion (anyone know where I can get my hands on some InstaWine tablets?). As a secondary plan, I would try to build up a large supply of drugs/chemicals/pharmaceuticals and live out my days as a feudal age drug lord. Plant some poppy, coca, kava, kratom, marijuana, various grains and yeasts for beer, grapes, morning glory, san pedro, tobacco, salvia, psylocybe cubensis, etc and guard it with my life, barter it for food and whatever. Besides that, I also think no post apocalyptic survival plan is worth a damn without a sizable herd of savage domesticated elephants willing to do my every bidding lovingly. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/57 "2008-05-24T15:58:43Z")
I guess my contact lenses and glasses won’t work - they are plastic, which seems to be out. So I’m doomed. I guess I would get LASIK, which I hope would survive. How about petroleum based fertilizer? Pesticides? Vaccines and anti-biotics? I guess I would concentrate on agricultural stuff, especially domesticated animals - cows (note to self; get a bull!) , chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep. A couple of pigs. Borrow myself way into debt to get a place with running water, and build a mill with a waterwheel. Is all this permanent? Could I build a generator from scratch? I am going to need a bunch of machine tools - lathes, things like that. Do books survive even if printed by machine on acid-free paper? I am going to need a shit load of how-to manuals. Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [May 24, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/58 "2008-05-24T16:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=Jpal] I don’t know, surely capturing beautiful female slaves to till your garden would be wrong even in a survival situation? But if you disagree, will you capture me one? I can pay you in mason jars. [/QUOTE] Blonde, brunette or redhead? Matched sets are extra. 😃 Since the Flying Monkeys only take away technology and not knowledge, I think books, blueprints, diagrams and the like will be the most important thing in rebuilding society. After all, we _know_ what is possible, so we don’t waste time developing tech that will be quickly obsolete. We can rebuild to a 19th century level in less than 50 years. From there, the only problem will be man-power, because I think The Change will take out about 80% of the world’s population. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/59 "2008-05-25T01:30:00Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I’m going to spend all my money on toothpaste, soap, dental floss, toothbrushes, and other non-perishables and a trailer to cart them around with and go live with **elelle**. 😃 [/QUOTE] Oh, yep, if it all falls to crazy making, y’all can come on down. You HAVE to do your own dishes, though, ain’t gonna stand for that. Been there. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399/60 "2008-05-25T02:32:52Z")
I’d rent a nice cabin in a suitable area for Hot Fudge Sunday, because who needs to buy a home if you can loot it. I’d make sure all the family and friends I can handle are in place on doomsday – no random groups, I want people I can work with. All the money will go for the lo-tech essentials, and exotic seeds and spices that you just can’t get by walking through the local bushes. And stockpiles of cloth, paper, ingots etc… that will be a pain to acquire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-one-year-to-prepare-for-the-downfall-of-civilization-whats-your-plan/450399.md?page=4)