18 Popular Survival "Tips" That Are Totally Wrong And Will More Likely Cause Your Demise Rather Than Survival
Redditor u/kuroi_sny asked a practical question: What survival myth is completely wrong and can get you killed? The answers that came showed how many popular survival tips are actually sham.
1."Drinking water from a cactus. If absolutely needed for survival, you could get some water out of a fishhook barrel cactus but only in limited amounts. Most cactuses have various acids and other fun things in the water that will make you shit yourself to death."
"Dehydration in the desert isn't a laughing matter, and you don't want to lose the precious bit of water left in your body to the desert ground." —u/Kraymur
2."Running in a zigzag to outrun an alligator. Alligators don't run for long distances, so this will probably just waste your energy. They can also climb some fences and trees as well."
History Channel / Via giphy.com
3."People say, 'if you’re in a tornado, open all your windows to equalize the pressure inside to match the outside.' Actually, if you’re in a tornado, opening any window or door will create a wind tunnel that rips your entire roof off."
The Weather Channel / Via giphy.com
4."The saying 'lightning never strikes twice in the same place.' If lightning has found a path that it likes to the ground, it's extremely likely to strike there multiple times. That why lightning rods work."
Fox / Via giphy.com
5."Just because water looks clean doesn't mean it is. You've got to boil it or distill it to actually have clean water."
6."Conserving water. You should not stretch a glass of water over four days. When you are thirsty, you need water."
NBC / Via giphy.com
7."'Follow flying birds to find water.' They can simply be flying to spend a night anywhere, so we can’t rely on them."
BBC Eearth / Via giphy.com
8."Concerning frostbite, do not rub someone’s frostbitten skin or pour hot water on it to warm them up. Such measures will damage the skin even more severely."
9."That you’ll be totally safe if you only eat plants/fungi you recognize."
"Hemlock looks a lot like wild parsnips. Basically, all wild almonds will kill you if you eat more than one. And of course, there’s the Chris McCandless 'potato seed' thing." —u/Redqueenhypo
10."That moss grows on the north side of a tree. It can grow all over the tree, so it’s not a steadfast rule that you should make important decisions solely on."
11."You cannot eat everything that an animal can eat. There are things animals can eat that humans find toxic, so eating everything you see animals eating can lead to you potentially eating deadly berries or mushrooms."
KQED / Via giphy.com
12."That drinking alcohol when you are freezing will keep you warm. It won't; it will bring on hypothermia much sooner."
Showtime / Via giphy.com
13."Split up to cover more ground."
14."'If a shark is coming after you, swim away.' If a shark is coming towards you in the first place, it's most likely just curious and wants to check you out. Swimming away and thrashing about will further intrigue it to keep following you. Instead, redirect it by running your hand along its side and carefully positioning it to swim away from you."
PBS / Via giphy.com
15."If you're in a hot area, don't ration your water. Drink when you feel thirsty, and search for more water."
NBC / The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / Via giphy.com
16."That you can give somebody CPR and they'll be fine moments later like nothing happened."
NBC / Via giphy.com
17."Pulling out something that is impaling you."
VH1 / Via giphy.com
18."Most of the stuff Bear Grylls does. Like eating raw meat, picking and eating fruit out of bear shit, or squeezing the juice out of elephant shit and drinking it."
Netflix / Via giphy.com
