How would you fare?

[Lainey]

In a situation like she describes, how do you think you would fare?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[FinalEnigma]

Bring me! Bring me!
1)I learned survival skills in the army, and
2)when Charles runs out of ammo I know how to make basic bows/arrows and am a pretty good shot.
3) I know how to sew.
4) I can cook

'K. You're in.

Yay!

5) clean water is easy - boil it.

I seriously can't believe that didn't occur to me. I know that! Crap! I'd be the first one to be fed to the wolves/sharks. That's why I'd plan to make myself the leader (queen? I have imperialistic tendencies) of my tribe!

6) if on an island I know how to salt meat to preserve it. And how to get the salt to do it.
7) I can make fire and build shelters
8) I'm pretty fit, and can easily travel fair distances faster than many people.
9) I know how to make soap in the wilderness

How?

Animal fat, ash, and water makes a basic soap. its rather harsh, but it will clean stuff.

[catalyst]

In a situation like she describes, how do you think you would fare?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I reckon I would do ok, but that comes down to many life experiences. When I was younger I used to go camping.. A LOT! I am not talking caravan or trailers here, but sleeping under the stars and the weather was dodgy gathered branches and the like to make shelter, food cooked on open fire rather than portable gas burners. As long as there was someone there to catch and kill the proteins, I could skin, gut and cook them. I have my St Johns Ambulance Certification (CPR etc), but also can treat minor things like leeches and ticks with natural remedy.

I could be entertainment as I can sing.

Though, I expect they would probably kick me off the island regardless because I talk too much! lol

5) clean water is easy - boil it.

Does that de-salinate it though? (if the only water available was salt water?)

If not, it can be slowly strained through a t-shirt to remove the salt and then boiled (muslin would be better but who carries that?)

[cnorman18]

In a situation like she describes, how do you think you would fare?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I reckon I would do ok, but that comes down to many life experiences. When I was younger I used to go camping.. A LOT! I am not talking caravan or trailers here, but sleeping under the stars and the weather was dodgy gathered branches and the like to make shelter, food cooked on open fire rather than portable gas burners. As long as there was someone there to catch and kill the proteins, I could skin, gut and cook them. I have my St Johns Ambulance Certification (CPR etc), but also can treat minor things like leeches and ticks with natural remedy.

I could be entertainment as I can sing.

Though, I expect they would probably kick me off the island regardless because I talk too much! lol

5) clean water is easy - boil it.

Does that de-salinate it though? (if the only water available was salt water?)

If not, it can be slowly strained through a t-shirt to remove the salt and then boiled (muslin would be better but who carries that?)

You can't remove dissolved salt by straining. You have to distill it (see making booze).

If you're by the ocean, dig behind the first rise on the side away from the sea. The water table will be at the same level as the ocean, and the water will be fresh.

If you're not by the sea, dig a wide shallow hole down to where the earth is damp, put a can or cup in the center, then cover the hole with a plastic sheet and seal the edges by burying them. Put a rock on the sheet over the cup to weight it down so it makes an inverted cone shape. Moisture will condense on the plastic and drip into the cup; not fast, but it'll keep you alive.

Or bring lots of beer.

[catalyst]

In a situation like she describes, how do you think you would fare?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I reckon I would do ok, but that comes down to many life experiences. When I was younger I used to go camping.. A LOT! I am not talking caravan or trailers here, but sleeping under the stars and the weather was dodgy gathered branches and the like to make shelter, food cooked on open fire rather than portable gas burners. As long as there was someone there to catch and kill the proteins, I could skin, gut and cook them. I have my St Johns Ambulance Certification (CPR etc), but also can treat minor things like leeches and ticks with natural remedy.

I could be entertainment as I can sing.

Though, I expect they would probably kick me off the island regardless because I talk too much! lol

5) clean water is easy - boil it.

Does that de-salinate it though? (if the only water available was salt water?)

If not, it can be slowly strained through a t-shirt to remove the salt and then boiled (muslin would be better but who carries that?)

You can't remove dissolved salt by straining. You have to distill it (see making booze).

If you're by the ocean, dig behind the first rise on the side away from the sea. The water table will be at the same level as the ocean, and the water will be fresh.

If you're not by the sea, dig a wide shallow hole down to where the earth is damp, put a can or cup in the center, then cover the hole with a plastic sheet and seal the edges by burying them. Put a rock on the sheet over the cup to weight it down so it makes an inverted cone shape. Moisture will condense on the plastic and drip into the cup; not fast, but it'll keep you alive.

Or bring lots of beer.

There was this thing on a show here called "New Inventors" only within the last months, where this bloke had put some "treatment" on mega fine muslin, so water would/could drip through and be desalinated. It was a different "spin" on distilled water this guy came up with as he lives in drought stricken coastal areas here in Aust, and they had near to NO water.

I will see if I can find the link for it and post it.

[GrumpyMrGruff]

Hmm. I've spent my entire life training to be a scientist - the sort of niche role that depends on a functioning civilization. Any practical knowledge I've gained over the years has been completely coincidental.

I can contribute some skills, but I'd be dead without a group.

If we're living in a fresh post-apocalyptia, I could do a lot with chemicals and equipment left in the ruins of universities (disinfectants, anesthetics, recreational drugs, etc).
I have basic first aid training.
I'm proficient with a bow, though I couldn't make one or replace arrows.
I occasionally go pistol shooting.
I'm a vegetarian, so you can eat most of the meat. I just need enough to get my protein.
My big selling point: I can isolate and culture fungi (basic micro-bio training). I bet everyone will be clamoring for penicillin and other antibiotics when the pre-fall supplies run out.

But I am quite grumpy and pessimistic. I'd probably be the first one exiled to the wilderness after annoying the rest of my group.

[Lainey]

My big selling point: I can isolate and culture fungi (basic micro-bio training). I bet everyone will be clamoring for penicillin...

Penicillin? *shudder* :nervious:

...and other antibiotics

Oh, okay then. You're in.

But I am quite grumpy and pessimistic. I'd probably be the first one exiled to the wilderness after annoying the rest of my group.

You can join my misanthropic tribe. We aren't people-persons anyway, so we won't expect any less than to be annoyed by other members.

[upallnite]

How to make cold water and ice?

Cold water is easy to make. I like the desert bag method. If you ever go camping in a hot climate you know what a desert bag is. To make one first you need something to hold water like a gourd or stomach of an animal you caught. Then you need an absorbent material to wrap around it. Clothing if we have to but I am sure I could make some burlap like material using local vegetation or something one of the others caught. Fill gourd/stomach with water and keep the outside wet and hang up in the wind. In no time at all you will have nearly ice cold water.

Making Ice requires some construction. To see construction of these machines Google Haiti and Ice maker. Make a turbine (very easy), air compressor (semi hard), insulated box(easy), check valve (medium), shutoff(medium), step down pulleys/gears(easy), and tank(medium). The turbine is so that the wind will do the work for you. The step-down gears are for making it easier for the turbine to turn the compressor under pressure. The compressor compresses air thru the check valve into the tank. The tank and shutoff holds compressed air. Compressed air can be passed into the insulated box to cool water to the point of freezing.

So does the queen prefer shaved or crushed ice in her Margarita?

Edit: I forgot the vortex tube. How could I forget the vortex tube.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_tube

[Lainey]

How to make cold water and ice?

Cold water is easy to make. I like the desert bag method. If you ever go camping in a hot climate you know what a desert bag is. To make one first you need something to hold water like a gourd or stomach of an animal you caught. Then you need an absorbent material to wrap around it. Clothing if we have to but I am sure I could make some burlap like material using local vegetation or something one of the others caught. Fill gourd/stomach with water and keep the outside wet and hang up in the wind. In no time at all you will have nearly ice cold water.

Making Ice requires some construction. To see construction of these machines Google Haiti and Ice maker. Make a turbine (very easy), air compressor (semi hard), insulated box(easy), check valve (medium), shutoff(medium), step down pulleys/gears(easy), and tank(medium). The turbine is so that the wind will do the work for you. The step-down gears are for making it easier for the turbine to turn the compressor under pressure. The compressor compresses air thru the check valve into the tank. The tank and shutoff holds compressed air. Compressed air can be passed into the insulated box to cool water to the point of freezing.

Neato. I think I could remember the first one. Learn somethin' new every day. I'll Google the second one!

So does the queen prefer shaved or crushed ice in her Margarita?

...crushed. Yes, crushed.

[cnorman18]

I remember reading when I was a kid that if you put water in a steel cylinder, put a steel piston on top of it, and hit it with a sledgehammer, the water freezes instantly.

I read that in Ripley a long, long time ago (I have this trick memory that lets me remember stuff I read when I was 10 verbatim and forget what I went to the store for), but it turns out the Ripley people have confessed that not everything Bob Ripley published was true. That's why he called it "Believe it - or not."

[Intrepidman]

I reject the notion such a place can exist. For it to be true all 12 people would have to have the same nutritional needs, and the island would have to only have enough resources to support 6 and only 6 people at bare-minimum starvation levels.

For example, as I get older I find I don't eat nearly as much. Assuming said island could support 6 'me's at 30, it could only support 3 'me's at 20, when I was in the Army, and eating like a horse. That same island could now support 12 'me's at my current age. Of course 3 'me's at 20 could kick 12 'me's at my current age's asses.

If it can support 6 at a higher than starvation level then someone would have to die so that others can be fatter.

On the other hand, if it can only support 6 at starvation levels, it might be worthwhile to sacrifice a couple of extras so that the remaining 4 could have more to eat to increase their survival chances even more.