Kind of for fun- kind of for research...

tfdswift · Mar 4, 2005

Here's the thing...

You and your family are being evacuated to a very secluded place. It has plenty of fresh water and lots of wild flora and fauna and rich fertile land. You may only take twenty items with you to sustain you and your family for the rest of your lives. What would you take?

Keep in mind, that whatever you choose must be specific. Like you can say a 22- magnum rifle (that's one item) but for ammo you must say a specific number of shells - such as 50 (and that is another item.) The catch is you and your family must be able to carry these items to the destination in one trip, so you want to watch weight. But you can also get creative such as a 5-gallon bucket of various seeds would count as only one item, because it is one container filled with one item. Like the cases that shells come in, they are part of the shells. Just like a 50 pound barrel of beans is one item.

Each pot and each utensil counts as one item.

Now with all of this info-- what would you and yours take? And please tell me why you would take them?

~~Tammy

paprikapink · Mar 4, 2005

Am I gonna have electricity when I get there?

-pkpk

ChunkyC · Mar 4, 2005

I have over 100 DVD's and I ain't leavin' any of em behind! Do they count as one item?

Seriously, I'd have to think about this for about a month before I could come up with a reasonable answer.

paprikapink · Mar 4, 2005

It is an interesting question. A woman in my RL writer's group is writing of her experinces as a Japanese-Canadian internee during WWII. They had to make a decision just like this one, and they didn't get much time --not more than a couple of weeks -- to think about it.

-pkpk

tfdswift · Mar 4, 2005

Nothing

No electricity, no modernconveniences of any kind. You don't even have a shack when you get there, so what kind of home are you going to provide and what will you need to take to provide it?

I am a patient person... take your time... This is going to be for the rest of your life. So Chunk, are the dvd's still important??? Just kidding. I really would appreciate anyones help.

~~Tammy

rtilryarms · Mar 4, 2005

me

I'll just take my wife. It's her responsibility to support me in case of disasters or foreign occupation. It's a clause in the prenuptials.

OK, so that's.......one item.

SRHowen · Mar 4, 2005

What about my Mother Earth survial in the wilderness books and my FoxFire books--are they one item or is each book seperate?

Shawn

reph · Mar 5, 2005

A truck with lots of stuff in it – that's one item, right?

tfdswift · Mar 5, 2005

Each book is one item.... No a truck is one item and each thing in it is one item.

I basically want to see what you think it will take for you to survive.

~~Tammy

Maryn · Mar 5, 2005

Like everybody else, I'd have to think for some time on this.

But I know off the top that this is yet another place our kids aren't going to want to go with us!

Maryn

aka eraser · Mar 5, 2005

Okay, I'm going to wing it here, without pre-planning.

1- Fishing outfit. The rod and reel are attached so it should count for one item.

2- Fishing bag. I joke in my book that I'd have a decent chance of surviving Armageddon if I have my fishing bag with me. I keep everything in there.

3- Leatherman tool.

4- A .222 rifle. Large enough calibre for medium-large game, small enough for small game.

5,6,7 & 8 - Four boxes of 50 bullets each.

9 - My Goretex parka.

10- A magnifying glass. For starting fires when the matches I have in my fishing bag run out.

11- A fillet knife.

12- A sizeable pot with a handle and lid.

13- Sleeping bag.

14- A large sheet of heavy-duty plastic, at least 20' X 20'.

15- An axe

16- One of those camping kits with a pot, frying pan, cup and utensils all packed into each other.

17- A plastic bag full of mixed vegetable seeds.

18- A How To Live Off The Land book, which would, of course, include how to recognize edible plants, herbs that could be used as medicines and other neat stuff.

19- A handcranked shortwave radio that can operate for up to an hour at a crank.

20- A tent w/fly.

I'm probably forgetting something important, but I'll take my chances with the above list.

MacAllister · Mar 5, 2005

Hmm--I have no family, so I'm going to attempt to trim the list by ten items (I can carry a LOT...<g>)

1--cross-cut hand saw
2--1000 feet of lightweight, very strong rope
3--compound bow
4--quiver of 20 arrows for bow
5--my trusty gerber multi-tool
6--bottomless first aid kit, w/ antibiotics, anti-inflamatories, and antihistamines, and toothpaste
7--abovementioned 5-gallon bucket full of assorted veggie/grain seeds
8--the best sleeping bag I can buy
9--needles and LOTS of strong thread
10--Can I bring a horse? If so, that's #10...if not, then I want Frank's fishing bag.

the ten "luxury" items I would have made my family--had I one--carry:
11--the aforementioned camping kit, with utensils packed one inside each other
12--tent w/fly
13--solar-heated camping shower rig
14--shovel
15--Complete Works of Shakespeare
16--Complete Works of Twain
17--Complete Works of Dickens
18--Coleman stove
19--Rod and reel (I had originally planned to build fish-traps, ala Native Americans, Frank...this wasn't really an oversight)
20--a good axe, with a blunt side so it can double as a maul

maestrowork · Mar 5, 2005

A genie in a lamp.

Does that count for one item or two?

ChunkyC · Mar 5, 2005

I'll take Frank and Mac. That leaves me room for my entertainment centre and 17 DVD's. Does a box set count as one item?

aka eraser · Mar 5, 2005

I like your list Mac. I kinda forgot about the cleanliness thing. We'd make a good survival team.

Chunk:

tfdswift · Mar 5, 2005

hmmmm

Those were pretty neat lists... I am working on the perfect list for a project I am working on.

Chunk, Give up the dvd's - there is no electricity anyway.

Frank, if you only bring one mess kit, who gets to use it???

There is no such thing as a "bottomless" first aid kit, Mac.

You need to survive for the rest of your life, are you willing to give up things like beef, poultry, pork.... cheese, milk, and other conveniences. I am surprised there are no other animals listed than one horse.

~~Tammy

ChunkyC · Mar 5, 2005

Okay: 15 DVD's, a portable generator and a full double-trailer tanker truck. You'll have to pry all five seasons of Babylon 5 from my cold, dead fingers ... which they'll probably be, after about four days. :idea:

MacAllister · Mar 5, 2005

...are you willing to give up things like beef, poultry, pork.... cheese, milk, and other conveniences. I am surprised there are no other animals listed than one horse.

Hmm--good point. I think I was taking for granted that out of the abundant flora and fauna you'd mentioned--there would be some sort of goat-like animal that could be captured and at least semi-domesticated for milking/butchering.

The horse would be infinitely handy in terms of labor--also for capturing above-mentioned goat-like animals.

CC--don't forget to bring your guitar!

paprikapink · Mar 5, 2005

I'm also thinking along the lines of a bag-pack loaded for a camping trip in the wilderness. That'd include a water-filtration-thingamajig. I didn't see that in a list yet.

Would dog and cat count as family members? Or items? (Say items and you're in big trouble!)

Cultjah-wise, I'm imagining it as if we're heading out to reinvent civilization from the ground up, so I wouldn't want to bring too many trappings of the one we've got now. Shakespeare, yes. Also I'd consider a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution worthy of being building blocks. Of course, I have them both in one book, so that's only one item.

This is fun. I didn't know I'd think that till you asked, Tammy.

-pkpk

ChunkyC · Mar 5, 2005

All joking about DVD's aside, that's an interesting sidebar, pkpk. First order of business would be survival, but once you had that squared away, then what?

reph · Mar 5, 2005

This is too hard. I can't do it. I wouldn't leave medical and dental care behind. I'd need a lifetime supply of thyroid pills, plus a blood test once in a while to review my dosage. Who knows what other medicine we'd need in the future, things not found in a first-aid kit? (My family is husband and me.)

I had a few ideas, though. Some have been mentioned.

--something mechanical (needs no fuel) for starting fires

--seeds of food plants
--plus seed for cotton or flax for when your clothes and linens wear out, but then you'll need a spinning wheel and a loom and knowledge of using them
--plus seed for calabash gourd (it makes containers)

--sewing kit

--(I wondered whether the native animals would be tame enough to milk and shear)

--fishnet

--shovel: as soon as you get there, you have to dig a latrine

--(how do you make paper and ink? paper is too heavy to carry)

--book about local edible and medicinal plants

--medical book

--cranked or solar-powered radio

--toothbrushes, floss

--salt

--nails

--knife (and grindstone? no, I assume there'll be rocks); scissors if possible

--device for signaling to airplanes "Get us out of here!"

JennaGlatzer · Mar 5, 2005

This is crazy hard! OK, I'll try.

1. First aid kit, stuffed with Motrin and Lexipro

2. Bucket of seeds

3. Scissors

4. Giant sleeping bag

5. Tent

6. Cosmetic bag with toothbrush, brush, soap, tampons, deodorant crystal?

7. Water filtration device

8. Axe

9. Lighter

10. Lighter fluid

11. Large cooking pot

12. Male cow

13. Female cow

14. Male chicken

15. Female chicken

16. Fishing pole

17. Tackle kit

18. Fishing net

19. Bag of yarn and knitting needles

20. How to Survive in the Wilderness-type book

Kida Adelyne · Mar 5, 2005

Hmmmm... good question.
Ok, the following list assumes I know how to USE the following items, have experience in growing crops, ect.

1. Army knife with everything possible.
2. Magnifying glass.
3. Sleeping bag
4. Male goat
5. Female Goat
6. Horse
7. Largest bag of food seeds I can fit on the horse
8. Bow
9. Quiver with 20 arrows
10. Survive in the wilderness book
11. Tent
12. Net
13. Longest, strongest hank of rope I can find.
14. Pregnant female rabbit (easy meal, prolific breeders)
15. Wooden flute
16. The Lord of the rings.
17. Cast iron pots
18. Roll of Chicken wire.
19. Sewing kit
20. Lots of linen bandages

oh, P.S.

--(how do you make paper and ink? paper is too heavy to carry)

Paper can be made from wood shavings. Get shavings as small as possible, soak them, press them flat, and let dry. Don't know about ink, but charcoal works pretty well for writing (if your not left handed as I am :idea:

I know. I shall reinvent civilization to write completly backwards! Then the right handed shall know my pain! :hooray:

MacAllister · Mar 5, 2005

Oh! A pregnant rabbit! Brilliant, Ally!

maestrowork · Mar 5, 2005

I was thinking a male and a female rabbits, but preggie bunny is even better (except if she has a miscarriage, then you have nothing).

See, I'm optimistic.

Kind of for fun- kind of for research...

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