Sunday, July 12, 2020

Surprisingly Unknown Survival Facts People Should Know


Someone on AskReddit got a fun thread going about various survival facts that people should probably know. We've got helpful life hacks like pouring ice water on your forearms if you're about to pass out, or how the star symbol on an elevator indicates which floor is the most direct route to the outside. Hopefully you never have to use any of these, but hey, the more you know, right? 

1.

Text - AtopMountEmotion • 19h 1 Award Elevator stuff: The STAR symbol on the elevator panel indicates the floor that is the most direct route to outside. Reply 1 2.0k ...

2.

Text - Fried_Dace • 19h Every part of a dandelion, from the flower to the stem to the root, is edible. Reply 4.0k ...

3.

Text - Sirhc978 • 23h During the winter, it is WAY better to be slightly cold than it is to sweat. If you start to sweat, you can go hypothermic way faster. Reply 25.1k ...

4.

Text - Masonator55 • 20h Barrel cactus in the Sonoran desert are not full of water as is commonly portrayed. Instead they are full of acidic solutions that induce vomiting and diarrhea if consumed. These can easily be fatal for a dehydrated person in the desert. The Barrel cactus fruit by contrast, is one of the most agreeable edibles in the cactus world. They are easy to pick, thornless, and tasty. Reply 22.6k ...

5.

Text - Bubbafett33• 19h 4 Awards Pack a whistle. There's no chance your voice will hold out yelling at the top of your lungs, and whistles carry long distances. Especially handy if you've injured yourself, and need to rely on others finding you. SOS in Morse code is ... -- So three short blasts, three longer ones, three short, pause....and repeat. This is an especially handy and harmless device to give kids that are along for a hike (along with, "if you get separated, stop walking and blow the w

6.

Text - EnderOfHope • 17h 1 Award If you're about to pass out from being exposed to heat, pour cold water on your forearms. Ice works even better. This is an old farmer trick. You will feel the effects immediately. You will stop being dizzy and feel better almost immediately. Reply 9.4k ...

7.

Text - trendz19 • 19h If you ever fall off a ship/ferry at sea and were lucky enough to be spotted - don't try to swim your way to safety. The more you try to swim, the lesser the chances of survival. Just try to keep afloat and conserve energy (and body heat) while rescue team do what they're supposed to. Unless you are in hypothermic waters, the best bet always is to stay afloat without trying to swim to somewhere. This information about falling overboard, hypothermia and conditions, survival

8.

Text - Nocty777 • 17h 3 Awards Very rarely are people mentally prepared to fight a naked man. Reply 9.4k ...

9.

Text - patrickverbatum • 21h 1 Award if you get stuck in your car in the snow, STAY WITH YOUR VEHICL!!! Hypothermia makes you delirious and you can wander the wrong direction and freeze to death. Your vehicle is also a LOT easier to locate than YOU are. Reply 34.3k ...

10.

Text - Shelldonix • 23h I used to be in military cadets when I was a teenager. The most important thing l've been taught to take care of is my feet. He mentioned how if you're gonna wash one thing that it should be your feet as you take them for granted. Think of how difficult it is to get out of a survival situation where you have trench foot. Reply 6.6k ...

11.

Text - rocketparrotlet • 21h 3 1 Award If you are drinking plenty of water but still showing signs of dehydration (headache, fatigue, muscle aches, blurred vision, stumbling around), you may be low on electrolytes. Salty foods can really help with this, but oral rehydration salts such as Pedialyte work even better and should probably be in more people's backpacks. 3, Disclaimer: those symptoms aren't limited to dehydration and can also occur due to heat exhaustion, hypothermia, or altitude sickn

12.

Text - samdaniel911• 1d You can squeeze relatively safe water out of moss. Obviously you should still boil it and and it's going to have some dirt but it way better than drinking out of a steam or puddle. Reply 21.3k ..

13.

Text - Nickheadbfd • 21h Dryer lint is super effective for starting fires. Reply 8.9k

14.

Text - girlwithnotraits • 22h 1 Award When wild camping and hiking in Scotland, some Dutch Outdoor guy told us to always keep Tampons to start a fire. He was so right - in a wet environment where all the leaves and branches are moist and the wind blows like crazy, we sometimes needed 1,5 hours to start a fire and we needed the fire to at least have a warm meal in the night. They're the best fire starter: they're lightweight and tiny (easy to carry), you can pull them apart and there's a lot of e

15.

Text - LeftToaster • 21h 1 Award If you are lost in the wilderness - if you have shelter and a source of water, and if you have reason to believe people will be looking for you, you are usually better to stay put than to try to find your way out. Wandering around lost you expend a lot of energy, you could easily get into a far worse situation and anyone looking for you will likely start at your last known or expected location - which, if you are lost, you might be wandering farther from. This is

16.

Text - SpitefulShrimp • 23h Don't fuck with garage door springs. Reply 6.8k ...

17.

Text - ajgreen_ • 22h If you accidentally disturb a bee hive or wasp nest and are being swarmed, DO NOT run for water. It seems intuitive that jumping in water will keep the bees off you, but actually they will wait for you to resurface and resume stinging you. Instead, run as fast and as far away as you can. Bees/wasps are territorial and will not easily leave their home range. So once you leave their comfort zone, you're pretty much safe. Reply 21.1k ...

18.

Text - avocado_beansprouts • 20h When anyone talks about "survival skills" everyone jumps to the conclusion is that the scenario is that you are lost in the forest or wilderness or something and tips are often things like how to read stars for directions or make a fire out of sticks etc. Survival skills also apply if you are in a big city, or maybe survival skills in prison which could include how to stay safe and out of trouble best as you can. Or for those on a tight budget survival skills cou

19.

Text - RaindropslnMyMind • 18h If you want to prevent being the victim of a crime it is your subconscious that is going to tell you that you are in danger. You will think "something isn't quite right". If you ever have a FEELING that something is wrong get out of there immediately Reply 1.4k ...

20.

Text - MarsNirgal • 21h Your car is in general much easier to locate than you are, so unless you're absolutely certain that you can get to a safe place, it's better to stay close to your car for any searching party. (Of course, if it's stranded in the middle of a road an any incoming car will hit it, you probably shouldn't stay IN your car, and in the desert it's better to be in the shadow of the car than inside where you will get cooked alive, but the general principle still remains) Reply 1 84

21.

Text - kryzo • 18h 1 Award If you are ever involved in gunfire or a shooting of any sort, a sharp cracking sound means the gunfire is aimed at you, a deep thumping noise means the gunfire is aimed away from you Reply 2.3k ...

22.

Text - Kittyfish1098 • 20h Just because you're drinking water doesn't mean you're safe. You need to take in salt as wellI. I've seen this kick people's asses big time. They drink and drink and drink water but still overheat/throw up/pass out because they didn't take in any salt or electrolytes Reply 14.5k ...

23.

Text - Indianlnferno•23h S 5 Awards Most subway platforms have a space for a person to crawl under in case they fall on the subways tracks. So if you fall off the edge of the platform and onto the tracks. Instead of trying to climb back up, if you see a train coming there's a crawl area underneath. It might be tight, and you'll certainly get dirty, but better than dying Reply 1 27.5k ...

24.

Text - Iso-LowGear • 20h 1 Award Posted this on Reddit before. Posting it again bc it's important. Contrary to popular belief, if an alligator is chasing you, you should NOT run in zigzag. Do one "zig" and then run straight. The alligator is not going to try to follow the zigzag, it will just run for you straight and you'll be slower. Do one "zig" so that the alligator will have to do one zig if it wants to get you, and then just run in a straight line like your ass is on fire.

25.

Text - _TheBurninator_ • 21h 3 2 Awards Here's one you can use every day, know your exits! People will naturally want to go out the way they came in because it's the only exit they remember, especially at places like concert venues. You don't have to be paranoid, just take a quick glance and make a mental note. In the off chance an emergency happens it could mean the difference between a swift and safe exit or being trampled in a panicking mass of people. Edit: I'm having a lot of fun reading al

26.

Text - Level238 • 17h 2 Awards Cut four times the firewood you think you'll need. Reply 4.2k ...

27.

Text - Knittingtaco • 21h Lead the pack if scared of snakes. You'll disturb them but the person behind you is more likely to get bitten. Reply 1 1.8k ...

Submitted by:

No comments:

Post a Comment