If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three items would you want to have? How would you build shelter? What would you eat? Do you actually think you would make it?
If you’ve spent countless hours watching Survivor or you’ve seen Cast Away and 127 Hours more times than you’d like to admit, chances are you’ve pondered how well you would fair in a life-threatening situation. And while most of us will never actually be confronted with being stranded or being suddenly attacked in the wild (Thankfully! I don't think I'm cut out for that...), it can bring us a bit of peace of mind to know just how we should respond in those situations.
Below, we’ve gathered useful survival tips from the HOW TO… Twitter account that you never know when you might need. Whether you need to break down a door, survive a shark attack or shield yourself from an oncoming train, this list has got you covered. Be sure to upvote the tips you think could save someone’s life, and feel free to share any of your own Bear Grylls-esque tips in the comments. Then if you’re looking to expand your survival knowledge even more, we’d recommend giving this Bored Panda article a read next.
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Whether you love hiking, rock climbing and spending time outdoors, or your idea of camping is staying in an air conditioned cabin in the woods, it’s smart to know some basic survival skills. You really never know when you might need them, and as much as we like to think that watching films has prepared us for zombie apocalypses and various other life-threatening situations, it’s probably a good idea to have some real-world, practical tips.
The HOW TO… Twitter account just launched in September 2022, but they’ve been sharing neat and useful tips and tutorials ever since. The page has already amassed over 42k followers, who it happily teaches how to make coffee, how to translate in Google Sheets, and, oh yeah, how to survive shark attacks. Of course, the tips on this list are useful for some pretty extraordinary scenarios, and they might not always save a life. But they are definitely good to have hidden up our sleeves when that one in a million moment comes along and we find ourselves lost in the forest as nightfall is approaching.
Not entirely true ..The fastest sunsets (and sunrises) occur at or near the equinoxes. And the slowest sunsets (and sunrises) occur at or near the solstices. It’s true whether you live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. And, by the way, when i say sunset here, im talking about the actual number of minutes it takes for the body of the sun to sink below the western horizon. It’s because, at every equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west. That means(on the day of an equinox ) the setting sun hits the horizon at its steepest possible angle. So the 15 minute rule most likely is not going to apply :)
I was attacked once by an angry stray dog. I guess my survival instinct kicked in, because it was a matter of seconds - I took off my backpack and used it as shield to protect my face and chest. Every time the dog charged, it bit the backpack and tore it apart, but I was unharmed (help arrived eventually). Also, some years ago my country had a serious problem with stray dogs (you could see big packs even in the cities). They were aggressive and territorial, but they feared stones. So if you picked a stone and threw it towards them (or just pretended to throw it) there were big chances for the dogs to keep the distance.
Crazy! I was 5 and riding bikes when an angry boxer chased me and my 5yr old friend all the way home, snarling and nipping at our bike tires. I always thought if one of us fell he'd have attacked us terribly. It really frightened me, but he stopped chasing when we got up to our driveways. It was a neighbors dog. We never saw it our of his yard again.
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I was attacked by the school's guard dog (it was a nunnery so the dog was for night security) when it broke out of the leash and I was too fat to run as fast as the other kids, so the dog jumped on me and I fell to the floor. Somehow I managed to grab it by the throat with one hand and punched its nose as hard as I could, it was stunned for a few seconds and it was long enough for someone to pull it back. It wasn't a nasty dog by any means but other kids were taunting it and I happen to be passing nearby when the dog finally lost it. A properly secured kennel was built the next week. H&S was fun in the 70s!
I never thought about that before, but... what if you throw the stick and yell "fetch"?
These instructions are only for defense. The first thing you should do is look to see if the dog is wearing a collar. If it does, that is an opportunity to go the offense. Grab the collar and twist it to stop the dog's breathing restrict blood flow to its brain. This saved me when I was attacked by a huge vicious dog.
This may have worked for you and I'm glad it did but this is NEVER EVER the way to stop a dog attack. I worked in veterinary medicine for a decade. This is hands down the easiest way to ensure that you'll be bitten because the dog will redirect on your forearm before you have a chance to get your hands on the collar and restrict its breathing. I've seen it hundreds of times. The quickest and easiest way to stop an attacking dog is, if possible, to lift its hind legs off the ground and hold them there until the animal calms down. This is called the "wheelbarrow method" and it works every time. If this isn't possible, the above method is a decent way to protect your center body mass.
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A Great Dane attacked me. I put out my left forearm and when he bit, I shoved hard at him and he let go. Never pull, and don’t pull your punches. Use any tool and stay on your feet. If you go down, curl up and protect face, throat, belly, and hands.
I forced my arm into the dogs mouth and pushed it in as hard as I could. Seemed to work.
I'd like to add a few things. Having worked in animal medicine for years, I've seen MANY dog fights and their aftermath. This method is pretty decent for survival. The hands down easiest and quickest way to stop an attacking dog immediately is, if possible, lift its hind legs off the ground and hold them there until the dog calms down or it can be leashed. This is called the "wheelbarrow method" and it works because it disorients and disarms the animal temporarily, rendering it unable to continue attacking. Also, by approaching from behind, the dog is now unable to redirect on you. It works every single time. (The wheelbarrow is also the ideal way to break up a dog fight but it requires two people) However, it's not always possible to get behind an attacking dog. In that case, the above method is the safest route. Sacrifice your non-dominant arm if you must and always protect your center body mass.
Forgot to mention that if all else fails, try to get somewhere higher than the dog since they can't climb. Top of a vehicle, dumpster, shed, a tree, anything. Some dogs have an extremely high prey drive and unimaginable strength and tenacity and will stop at NOTHING during an attack. I've seen dogs continue fighting with all four legs broken, one that had been stabbed through her lung in an effort to stop her and it didn't work, one dog who fought her own daughter to the death (those poor people lost both of their dogs that day), etc. These scenarios are the extremes but if you find yourself being relentlessly attacked by one of them, put some elevation between the dog and yourself. You may be stuck there for a while but it WILL save your life.
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It pains me to talk about "hitting" an animal as a Veterinarian, but I will be the first one to tell you I threw my cellphone at a bobcat and hit it directly in the eye to stop an attack. Do what you need to do to protect yourself. I will say that the head is the worst place to hit an animal. Like us, their skulls are meant to protect the brain, so it's not going to hurt them as much as you think. Legs, abdomen, eyes if you must.
Maybe it's just me but dogs seem to really hate bicycles. I've been threatened several times while riding mine. A lot of times they'll back off when I dismount. I dismount to better use the pepper spray I carry. If I could get away with it I'd carry a shot gun instead. One shot for the mutt and one for the person that lets their adorable, friendly pet run loose.
It's not the bike, but the motion of the bike. Dogs are animals. Some retain a really high prey drive, and unfortunately this gets translated into chasing bikes, cars, skateboards, joggers, etc. Please try an airhorn and not a shotgun. We keep one of the pocket sized ones for hiking, to shoo off any wildlife that wants to taste us (could also work to make noise if we ever got lost). Have also used them to break up dog fights, or redirect two dogs giving each other the stink eye, so I imagine it would work for an attack 🤷♀️
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They missed the step of throwing things away from you so as to distract dog, so instead of poking the stick at it, wave stick and throw. Don't make eye contact, try to act submissive and uninteresting, definitely don't go down on a knee at dog level. Our info from work for wild dogs was if you end up having to fight the dog wrestle, get on top and aim for easily breakable parts like shoulders.
I deal almost exclusively with dogs considered behaviorally problematic at a shelter, and get along with almost all of them. I think the biggest part of that is being calm, friendly, and not tangibly reacting to potential warning signs. (Which is not the same as ignoring them.) Your confidence, or lackthereof, is a huge factor in whether a dog is on edge, or goes over the edge. Almost every dog will refrain from attacking it it perceives no answering tension from you. Of course, this doesn't mean you should APPROACH a hostile dog, just that maintaining a calm demeanor (even if you're pulling a 180 to get away) will dial down the dog's threatened behavior.
My husband was a UPS driver for 25 years. He worked a rural route and was bitten a few times, always by what he called "sneak attacks", either dogs that were fine when he arrived, but then attacked his hand or ankles (small dogs) when he was leaving, or dogs who are so fearful they hid until he walked by, then attacked from behind. Dogs who showed aggression from the start were easy to control, using a deep calm but loud voice he would tell the dog to "go home". If that didn't work, just the action of reaching down to pick up a rock would make most back off. As a last resort he'd use the package and let the darned dog chew on it, but a stick or backpack work just as well.
Had some ladys dog rush out at me when walking home from work one day. He kept trying to get behind me so I had to manage the task of *calmly* spinning in 360s so he couldn't maneuver himself behind me. Bit me once, minor scratch but it tore through jeans to make it. Told the lady if he ever did it again she'll need a shovel and a shoebox. She did next to nothing but calling his name. I was on the *opposite* side of the road just as a cherry on top.
I remember something about sticking a finger in the dog's butt to get it to let go if it's biting someone (or another animal). Anyone know if that's true?
If you're able to get that close to the dog's hind quarters, lift its hind legs off the ground and hold them there until the dog calms down or it can be leashed. It's called the "wheelbarrow method" and it works every time. Inserting a finger into the rectüm would probably work too because it causes the peripheral nervous system to sort of hit the reset button, so to speak. It's the same neurological process as vomiting, it's a startling and violent activity that jolts the nervous system into returning to baseline. But again if you can get close enough to shove a finger up the dog's a$$, it will be much easier, quicker, cleaner, and FAR safer to just do the wheelbarrow.
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You can easily defeat a dog, the only problem is you have to give up your non dominant forearm for a bite. If a dog has a good grip, they will not let go. Use the other arm to twist the dogs head.
Most important rule is #2 (or #1): Don't show ANY sign of fear even if you are about to **** in your pants. Stop walking, stand upright, don't turn around and let the dog check you out and hope you'll pass the test. If not, proceed to #3
This is the recommendation when any canid, such as a wold or coyote, attacks. The addition to the recommendation is to wrap the arm you hold in front of you with your jacket or other padding. And then, when the canid biting your wrapped arm, to grapple by holding your other arm to the back of the dog's head or front shoulders. The step after that is to break the canid's spine by forcing the head backwards with the arm being bitten.
Sounds reasonable. I imagine this would be very, very painful for the arm being bitten but in that moment your adrenaline rush would cover it up.
Load More Replies...If you’re a city dweller who is not convinced that you could last a week out in the elements, first of all, you’re not alone. I shudder to think about what I would have to eat and where I would get that food if I was left to my own devices in the wild. But if you don’t know the first thing about survival, let’s start with some of the most basic tips. According to Alex, or The Smart Survivalist, there are 6 basic survival skills that we should all know, just in case.
First, Alex notes that we should all be capable of finding and purifying water. We’ve got to stay hydrated, and if you’re in a desperate situation, you can actually survive for longer than you might think by fasting and drinking clean, purified water. To find said water that might save your life, Alex first recommends searching downhill. Find low terrain, and listen for streams or follow green patches and animals. But if you can’t find fresh water, you will definitely need to have a purification system.
Screaming defiantly into the heavens is the way to go. At the very least it's a fun story your children can tell about your final moments
When it comes to purifying the water you find, you will likely need to boil it first. This can prove to be a difficult task when you’re without a stove or a pot. Knowing how to start a fire is the next skill Alex notes as essential for all travelers to know. One method he notes that might help you out is the “hand drill method”, which includes moving a twig against another twig to create friction and eventually sparks. Alex says this can work, if you set everything up correctly, but it takes a lot of effort.
If you have some sunlight and a pair of glasses, turning your glasses into a magnifying glass to create a concentrated beam of light can be a much simpler method of igniting your kindling. Flint and steel are also essential parts of any survival kit, Alex notes. But if you don’t have flint, a pocket knife and a nice quartzite rock can create a nice spark as well. And of course, if you're packing a survival kit, including matches and a lighter is never a bad idea either.
Or... now hear me out! Wear a life vest whenever you go out on the water.
Once you’ve got water and fire taken care of, you’re going to want to know how to create temporary shelter. Whether you need shade from the sun or shield from the rain, having some sort of roof over your head can be crucial to your survival in the elements. What you can build will always depend on what is available where you are, Alex notes. Rock formations and crevices can be very helpful, as well as fallen trees and large rocks. If you can use one or several of these things as some “walls”, you’re off to a great start. But Alex notes it also matters where you build your shelter, as you don’t want to be too close or too far away from water. And always be mindful of your campfire; the last thing you want is your shelter going up in flames.
I'd watch this movie. It's about a love triangle between two hikers and a pair of old socks.
Above all. Dont panic. Swim with the current and then swim back into the surf which will help carry you back to shore. .kick off heavy clothes
Do you have a good sense of direction? If you’re stranded in the wild, it’s going to be very useful to know how to navigate without a compass. Alex says that the best survival kits will have a compass and map included, but if you find yourself without them, it’s useful to know how to read your surroundings. You can always try to find a high point to look around and orient yourself. You can also look at where the sun is and how it has been moving. And if you’re really confused and lost, Alex says to find a water source. “You can follow the flow of the river to find people along the same path,” he writes. “If you aren’t completely off the grid in an unknown land, you will run across someone who can help. At the very least, you can fill your water bottle up and keep yourself hydrated as you look for a way back.”
In Czech republic there is trench between rails in underground, just for this case. So, if you are in Prague and somehow fall on tracks in metro station and the train is coming, go for that trench.
I was taught the simple saying for bears "If it's brown lie down, if it's black fight back"
Eventually, all of this searching for a means of survival is going to have you work up a pretty good appetite. But you have to be cautious when finding food, as ingesting a poison berry or having a dangerous encounter with an animal can be the end of you. So Alex says to try to only go after small creatures that you can easily spot and capture. Try fishing first or setting up traps to catch small mice and squirrels. You can also go foraging for food as well, but it will be much safer if you have a book such as Edible Wild Plants Field Guide to help you know what is safe. And once you catch or find something that won't be your last meal, bon appétit!
7: REALISE you could've used your now disembowelled phone to call for help.
Finally, a survival skill we should all know is how to dress a wound. We should always have some sort of first aid kit with us out in the wild, and a way to clean any wounds we might endure. Be sure to bandage any injuries carefully, as having something too tight, even if it’s bleeding, can cause more problems in the long run. You don't want to survive being stranded in the woods for days only to have to get a limb amputated when you get home! And if you have a broken bone, it’s important to find something to brace it with, like a tree branch or twig and some cloth.
Also recommended to not hit the silent alarm, otherwise heisters will 100% mag dump you.
Are you feeling prepared to go on the next season of Naked and Afraid or venture out into the woods with nothing but a backpack and your survival knowledge? Remember to upvote the tips you found most useful, and feel free to share any more of your own in the comments below. Thanks to the cushy lives most of us get to lead nowadays (thank you, technology!), we don’t often find ourselves in life threatening situations. But if you’re interested in being even more prepared for those dangerous and thrilling scenarios, be sure to check out this Bored Panda article next.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is a famous British polar explorer-he got frostbite when trekking across the ice and when he got back home, his fingertips had turned black and died off. He decided not to bother waiting for surgery, so he chopped off the dead bits himself in his shed with a vice and a saw.
Next BP article should be a photoshop contest to take these photos out of context by editing the text.
Find it worrying the number of comments along the lines of "well just call for help" or "use a compass app" etc. Doesn't work like that in the wild folks.
True. And I’m betting these people aren’t “in the wild” often so I wouldn’t worry too much about them. I’m not an outdoorsy kind of person so I know my limits. I’ve had thoughts about how quickly I would die in a Walking Dead scenario.
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its kinda bad that I'v used about 12 of these before I was 16.....and not just for like fun
Not sure if this is a survival trick but… There is something in Jiu Jitsu called an arm bar (I believe it is also used in other martial arts but we’ll go with Jiu Jitsu for this example). At one point you end up with the opponent’s arm straight out, thumb pointed down (so the elbow bends downward, this is important), and their elbow sort of bit is trapped in your armpit. You lock their elbow under your armpit, get a firm grip on their arm (forearm and wrist are fine places to grip), and simply start driving it up. CRACK. Moral of the story; with the right pressure points your bones are very, VERY easy to break. So be careful where you step, stick your arm in, etc. Edit: When I say drive the arm up, I mean drive their forearm in the opposite direction that the elbow is gonna naturally bend. In an arm bar like this it naturally bends down
Next BP article should be a photoshop contest to take these photos out of context by editing the text.
Find it worrying the number of comments along the lines of "well just call for help" or "use a compass app" etc. Doesn't work like that in the wild folks.
True. And I’m betting these people aren’t “in the wild” often so I wouldn’t worry too much about them. I’m not an outdoorsy kind of person so I know my limits. I’ve had thoughts about how quickly I would die in a Walking Dead scenario.
Load More Replies... its kinda bad that I'v used about 12 of these before I was 16.....and not just for like fun
Not sure if this is a survival trick but… There is something in Jiu Jitsu called an arm bar (I believe it is also used in other martial arts but we’ll go with Jiu Jitsu for this example). At one point you end up with the opponent’s arm straight out, thumb pointed down (so the elbow bends downward, this is important), and their elbow sort of bit is trapped in your armpit. You lock their elbow under your armpit, get a firm grip on their arm (forearm and wrist are fine places to grip), and simply start driving it up. CRACK. Moral of the story; with the right pressure points your bones are very, VERY easy to break. So be careful where you step, stick your arm in, etc. Edit: When I say drive the arm up, I mean drive their forearm in the opposite direction that the elbow is gonna naturally bend. In an arm bar like this it naturally bends down
