Non-conventional wisdom: Please add what you know

[angelofwar]

Conventional Wisdom:
Hot, sweaty, thirsty, some-one get me some cold water...not that warm crap!

Truth:
Warm water is processed MUCH faster into your body than cold water...you burn calories drinking cold water, as your body has to warm it up to process it...in fact, a calorie is:
"The calorie, or gram calorie, is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of pure water 1°C."

If your water is limited, or even if you just want to maximize your intake, drink warm/room temperature water...remember, the isideof your body is 98-degrees

Conventional Wisdom:
If your thirsty, don't drink salt water

Truth:
If some-one is suffering mild to sever dehydration, have them drink ~ 1 liter of water with a teaspoon of salt. The slat will help your cells retain the water your are consuming. That's why Gatorade has sodium in it.

Awesome thread, BTW, op!!!

[ForgeCorvus]

Conventional wisdom
You can stop wood from splitting when nailing by drilling pilot-holes.
Sharper nails penetrate the wood better

Truth
Pre-drilling adds a lot of extra work. Sharp nails are more of a problem with splits

Method
Turn the nail upside-down and place it over the spot you want to drive it in.
Smack the point with your hammer so it burrs out.
Position in the classic manner and drive home (using the fewest number of hammer blows possible, repeated tapping is more likely to bend the nail )

How it works (I think)
Rather then parting the wood fibres the blunted end acts as a punch to break through them, effectively 'drilling' a hole.... This seems to work even better if the surface is already compressed

BTW use the heaviest hammer you can control, a big mass pushes the nail in and a smaller (lighter) head has to move faster to deliver the same energy (speed= reduced control)

[Regulator]

Ivory (unscented) bar soap makes good catfish bait too. As far as braintan, every animal comes with enough brains to tan their own hide. Or just buy brains from the store for cheap.

[ctbarb]

Hi All,
When thinking of first aid don't over look your kitchen supplies.

Quite a few years ago when my teenaged son was riding a mini bike he decided to do some landscaping with his face. The ER doc cleaned his road rash ( hair line to collarbone and nose to his right ear-that was half torn off) with saline and then slopped silva dine all over it. The plastic surgeon came in and promptly washed off all the silva dine . After repairing John's ear he told me to just put a thin coat of solid veg shortening like Crisco, on it. It would keep it clean, moist, and let the air in for healing and yet still provide a good germ barrier. It worked like charm! John recovered without a mark on his face and believe me, he had looked like a big scab.

Another remedy from the kitchen that my Mom used on all 10 of the kids in my family, and that I've used on my 2 accident generating boys when they were growing, up is baking soda. Make a paste with water and put it on a bee sting and it helps with the pain by neutralizing the venom (the faster applied the better, of course) and can also help draw out the stinger sometimes. It also works well to help soothe a bad sunburn when put in bath water. I have personal experience with that one!

Just a couple off the top of my head that I know work.

[Chirpy]

Show up at a restaurant or something and encounter a sticky* table? Grab a couple of lemon wedges and squeeze the juice on the table. Lemon juice is an excellent stand in for soap in a lot of situations, and the citric acid is great on the sticky.

Getting ready to do some greasy, oily work? Slather on some hand lotion before you start. It'll fill your pores and make cleaning your hands afterwards much easier.

Wow, I'm coming off pretty metrosexual here aren't I?



* My nightmare scenerio, sticky zombies. Can't do the sticky.

[Logans Run]

If you have athletes feet, you can urinate on your feet to get rid of the infection.

you can pull the tip off of a Century Plant and a long thread will come with it, you can use this to sew or mend.

garlic is a natural way to enhance your immune system.

all parts of a dandelion can be eaten
and I found this: The humble little Dandelion has remarkable nutritional value, being very high in vitamins A and C, with more beta carotine than carrots and more potassium than broccoli or spinach, not to mention healthy doses of iron and copper for good measure. Medicinally, Dandelions are considered very safe and effective as a general tonic that helps strengthen the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, stomach, and intestines, improving bile flow and reducing inflammation in cases of hepatitis and cirrhosis. Dandelions also help to dissipate gallstones and are believed to improve kidney function, thereby improving overall health and clearing skin problems.
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbDandelionMed.htm

[prtp3warrior]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

[grennels]

Just a lot of little stuff that comes to mind. I don't have any references to anything, just stuff I've picked up myself, been shown, or heard about.




7. If your in your vehicle on a very steep incline and your engine just died, but you still have battery power while driving a stick. You can use your starter to repeatedly lunge your vehicle forward by leaving the clutch out while turning the ignition. You run a high risk of burning out your starter doing this, but if it's a last ditch effort, it's a tool of knowledge that can make or break a situation. Can also be used to lunge a vehicle forward off railroad tracks if broken down, last couple yards to a gas pump, etc.

Used to work. Doesn't since they started putting interlock switches on the clutch pedal in the 80's or there about. Engine won't turn over unless clutch pedal is depressed.

[AnonEmous]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

The general comment is helpful, but do you have a way to make a personal flotation device out of an object you would have in your bag, such as a garbage bag, pair of pants, or other useful item? That information is probably more useful.

[KnightoftheRoc]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

The general comment is helpful, but do you have a way to make a personal flotation device out of an object you would have in your bag, such as a garbage bag, pair of pants, or other useful item? That information is probably more useful.

I was thinking the same thing- to wit: Closing your gear in Zip-Loc bags will trap air inside the bags, and keep your gear dry. Added together, these bags add up to a flotation device from your pack- just take it off, jump in the water, and use it like a child's "floaty" to dog paddle your way across the water.

Zip-Locs also make a good way to store trash, or dirty items, to keep the funk from permeating your clean cloths. I prefer the freezer bag type, as they tends to be a bit thicker, and hold up to more.

[Cockroach]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

The general comment is helpful, but do you have a way to make a personal flotation device out of an object you would have in your bag, such as a garbage bag, pair of pants, or other useful item? That information is probably more useful.

I'm glad someone brought this up!
Unconventional wisdom----emergency flotation device from clothing field tested and confirmed:
In the Army they taught us how to use our GI issue T-shirt to create a flotation device. Tie off the sleeves and neck opening, get the entire shirt wet. Hold the large opening just barely under water and open palm slap air into the water and under the opening so it fills with air-takes some practice but it will inflate fairly quickly. Or you can submerge your head and exhale into the opening. We field tested this in pools and confirmed it works like a charm.
Key is to periodically wet down the exposed portions on the T-Shirt so it retains it's air tightness.

[prtp3warrior]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

The general comment is helpful, but do you have a way to make a personal flotation device out of an object you would have in your bag, such as a garbage bag, pair of pants, or other useful item? That information is probably more useful.

I'm glad someone brought this up!
Unconventional wisdom----emergency flotation device from clothing field tested and confirmed:
In the Army they taught us how to use our GI issue T-shirt to create a flotation device. Tie off the sleeves and neck opening, get the entire shirt wet. Hold the large opening just barely under water and open palm slap air into the water and under the opening so it fills with air-takes some practice but it will inflate fairly quickly. Or you can submerge your head and exhale into the opening. We field tested this in pools and confirmed it works like a charm.
Key is to periodically wet down the exposed portions on the T-Shirt so it retains it's air tightness.

All good points...I think there are several gear item that could float me a little in my Bag.
A water Bladder,
CAnteens
Dry bag,
Trash Bag,
and probably more.


The conventional wisdom though seems often to focus on surviving in the wild or taking a land route out of Dodge.

Seems to me that water travel may be a decent bet.

Also when we think of things that could bring minor trouble all the way to TEOTWAWKI, I seldom see major flooding thought of as one.

I just wonder how many people drowned in Japan when the tsunami hit... or India when the wave from the quake hit land. I know a PFD is not called a lifevest because you could still drown one but it would def increase your chances nevertheless. A trash bag would not suffice well though it would be useful if just trying to cross a calm lake perhaps.

In my AO, every single creek river and lake with more than 400 cfs flow is dammed. Some are dammed a dozen times before they reach the Mississippi.

People downstream don't realize how much water is held in the upper elevations by dams. If a downstream dam gives way...no problem, just a little localized flooding. If a major upstream dam gives way...expect failures down through the whole system and a big problem.

Our infrastructure is aging. It is just something to think about.

[MasterMaker]

More lost/forgotten wisdom than it is unconventional but wood tar can be used to seal and treat wounds.

It's antiseptic and gives protection, and no matter what happens, if you have a tin can and some wood, you can make it.

It's knowledge that will save lives once one runs out of conventional means of treating wounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creosote

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_tar

[dizie]

wounds - I use to build custom laminated counter tops, that stuff is very sharp. We used super glue to patch us up.

wounds - I got a minor scrape on my middle finger. Cleaned it and put bandaid on it. Two days later got very infected. Moral of the store, change bandage 3-4 times a day.

water - I was watching man, women, wild the other day. They used a reg plastic water bottle, put in over the fire and it boiled. Blew my mind. So I had to try it, it worked. Dont know how long the bottle will hold up.

[KnightoftheRoc]

wounds - I use to build custom laminated counter tops, that stuff is very sharp. We used super glue to patch us up.

wounds - I got a minor scrape on my middle finger. Cleaned it and put bandaid on it. Two days later got very infected. Moral of the store, change bandage 3-4 times a day.

water - I was watching man, women, wild the other day. They used a reg plastic water bottle, put in over the fire and it boiled. Blew my mind. So I had to try it, it worked. Dont know how long the bottle will hold up.

As long as the water inside it does, essentially. The water acts as a heat sink, and the plastic is thin enough to transfer the heat pretty quickly (try pouring hot water into a soda bottle, and see how fast you can feel it). The water continues to absorb heat and boil away (which is how it gives up that heat), so unless you let the water get pretty low, it's a pretty workable system for quite a long time.

[MasterMaker]

Lamp oil works better for getting paint, grease etc of skin than pretty much anything else, it soaks into the skin and fills up the pores so that the paint etc no longer adheres in addition to acting as a solvent.

It won't dry out your skin either like many other compounds that are used to get paint of, most other oils of low viscosity will work in the same manner.

[Danek]

@anonEmous, good info. In emergency situations, time can be critical. The faster people have safe water, for whatever purpose, the better. No sense wasting time unnecessarily.

[angelofwar]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

The general comment is helpful, but do you have a way to make a personal flotation device out of an object you would have in your bag, such as a garbage bag, pair of pants, or other useful item? That information is probably more useful.

If you want something a little more than tied up pants legs, the poncho raft http://www.army.mil/article/19896/ (2nd pic) is a very viable option.

[ODA 226]

HMMM. How About....Personal Flotation is a survival item you should consider having in your BOB or INCH bag?

If you want something a little more than tied up pants legs, the poncho raft http://www.army.mil/article/19896/ (2nd pic) is a very viable option.

In 1978, I made a poncho raft in Phase 3 of Special Forces School to E&E across the Pee Dee River. I made the 600 meter swim and escaped to safety. It really works well.

[derf26]

wounds - I use to build custom laminated counter tops, that stuff is very sharp. We used super glue to patch us up.

wounds - I got a minor scrape on my middle finger. Cleaned it and put bandaid on it. Two days later got very infected. Moral of the store, change bandage 3-4 times a day.

water - I was watching man, women, wild the other day. They used a reg plastic water bottle, put in over the fire and it boiled. Blew my mind. So I had to try it, it worked. Dont know how long the bottle will hold up.

As long as the water inside it does, essentially. The water acts as a heat sink, and the plastic is thin enough to transfer the heat pretty quickly (try pouring hot water into a soda bottle, and see how fast you can feel it). The water continues to absorb heat and boil away (which is how it gives up that heat), so unless you let the water get pretty low, it's a pretty workable system for quite a long time.

I'm pretty sure that regular plastic bottles leach dangerous chemicals when they're heated - so be careful!

[Skittles]

Sun Poisoning - Itchy red rash with sunburn
1/2 aspirin 325 mg tablet and Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) together
(dosage per weight)works fastest with liquid but works with tablets or capsules
(I have a ginger child who always burns no matter what SPF sunscreen and gets sun poisoning often)

Followed by oatmeal bath
Oatmeal bath works well for any itchy rash - chicken pox, chiggers, etc.

Splinters that have a tiny tip stuck out - Elmer's glue just a light coating when glue dries pull the glue skin off in the direction that the splinter is coming from and the splinter will adhere to the glue and come out easily without using a needle. No pain not scary. Good with children.

[MasterMaker]

Another remedy from the kitchen that my Mom used on all 10 of the kids in my family, and that I've used on my 2 accident generating boys when they were growing, up is baking soda. Make a paste with water and put it on a bee sting and it helps with the pain by neutralizing the venom (the faster applied the better, of course) and can also help draw out the stinger sometimes. It also works well to help soothe a bad sunburn when put in bath water. I have personal experience with that one!

WD40 will work for stings as well, nice to know if someone allergic get's stung...