Survival Facts That You Should Know

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  1. If you’re about to pass out from being exposed to heat, pour cold water on your forearms, especially left forearm. Ice works even better. You will stop being dizzy and feel better almost immediately.
  2. Very rarely are people mentally prepared to fight a naked man.
  3. Anything standing it’s ground and being loud just wants you to leave. If you don’t, they will attack. When they are relatively quiet, they have already decided to attack. This goes for humans, too.
  4. If you somehow are in a situation where you feel like you could drown and have no energy to go on, turn on your back and do the backstroke. For people who aren’t comfortable floating, focus on keeping your belly up, like a balloon full of air. If you spread out your arms, it might make things easier. If you can’t fully backstroke—maybe you can’t stay on top of the water well enough, or you can’t extend your arms like that—swim like a frog by lifting your arms above your head, and then pushing them back towards your body. Think jumping jacks.
  5. If you are stabbed with something and that object is still stuck in you, DO NOT PULL IT OUT. Go to the nearest emergency.
  6. It’s useful to have a whistle in your person. There’s no chance your voice will hold out yelling at the top of your lungs. On the other hand, whistles can be heard over long distances. This is especially useful if you’re injured and need to rely on others finding you.
  7. Dryer lint is super effective for starting fires.
  8. 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.
  9. 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 not always the case. It depends on if you are injured or not, and the nature of the injuries, on your relative safety where you are at, how far you are relative to your expected or last known location, how visible you are and a number of other situational factors. It is often worth a low risk climb to a better vantage point if possible. People have died a few hundred metres from a road which could have led them to safety.
  10. Drinking water alone doesn’t mean you are safe. You need to take in salt or electrolytes as well.
  11. You can squeeze relatively safe water out of moss. Obviously, you should still boil it, and it’s going to have some dirt, but it’s better than drinking out of a steam or puddle.
  12. You can get hypothermia in any water that’s below your body temperature, which is all body of water.
  13. Most landlines will work if the power is out.
  14. Take care of your feet. Even if you’re in a spot where you can’t wash your feet, just take off your footwear and socks, and let them air out and dry.
  15. If you are disoriented under water, hold your hand over your mouth and exhale lightly—bubbles go up. If you are disoriented on land, you can let some spit dribble out—spit goes down.
  16. When defending yourself, there is no need to “fight fair.” Fight back hard. Don’t give up because you think they’ll go easy on you. Summon every last bit of energy against your oppressor. Go for the eyes, chest, groin (mostly center of the human anatomy). Try to push them into the back of their skull. Expect to get hurt, because it makes it “less painful.”
  17. A towel is the most useful thing to have. You can dry yourself if you are wet. But it is also a blanket if you are cold. Can give shade if it’s warm. Can be used to wipe your sweat… Really, imagination is the limit.
  18. If you have an analog watch, with hands and dial, you can use it as a compass. Hold the watch flat, and point the hour hand at the sun. Half way between the hour hand and 12 o’clock points south (use the shorter gap to 12). So, if the hour hand is at 4, 2 would be the south. If the hour hand is at 8, 10 would be the south. There’s a few problems such as night time, and when the sun is directly over head.
  19. Put stick in ground. Trace shadow. Wait a while. Trace new shadow. You now know which way is west.
  20. If you are ever involved in gunfire or 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.
  21. Always bring a bandaid or moleskin. Not for cuts, per se. But for blisters. If you start to feel irritation when walking long distances, you have to address the spot quickly. A blister can debilitate even the most in-shape, athletic people.
  22. If you are at the beach and see the tide go in really far—like you can see abnormal amount of beach where the water should be—run away as fast as you can and get to high ground as quickly as possible, because a tsunami may be coming. If, however, you can see the tsunami wave crest approaching, it’s already too late. That wave is much faster than you.
  23. If you get bit by a venomous snake, the best course of action is to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Sucking out the venom does not work, and could cause infection. Also, do not restrict the blood flow to the limb that the bite is on (like with a tourniquet). Doing that would keep the venom in the area that the bite was in and will kill the tissue, potentially the entire limb. Most snake bites are treatable and you have a better chance with the venom diffused across the body.
  24. Run and walk against traffic. Ride (a bike) with traffic. TNU