Stupid is as stupid says

[abunaitoo]

I was watching a local TV show this morning.
They ask people around town questions on different subjects.
This mornings question was:
"If you were stranded alone on a deserted island. What one thing would you want to have???"
One girl answered;
"My cell phone. It would keep me occupied, and I can look at the pictures I took"

[Boyscout]

We played a similar "game" in a leadership class at work. The instructor was showed open contempt and ignorance when two of us (Eagle Scout and a Scoutmaster) said we would secure shelter, water, and then signal for help. Others literally wrote down entertainment type things as priorities. Being stuck on an island with pretty woman and playing stupid games is what most people think it would be like I guess.

[bedbugbilly]

ahhh . . . not much different than the Big Guy in D.C., when talking about "pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey", making the remark that Turkeys can't fly. If that's so . . . we must have some special turkeys where we live who are perfectly capable of flying into the trees to roost.

After all, we all know what Forest Gump's mother said about "fixing stupid" . . .

[HarryT]

Rescue should be your number one concern. Then water, food, shelter, beer, TV, women,...

[JSnover]

I'd ask for a boat...

[paul h]

A knife would be single most important tool and would be used for making shelter, a fire, other implements as time allows.

It's amazing how as technology becomes "smarter", people become stupider.

[Hardcast416taylor]

A man stranded on an islet with minimal food for a long time. Which would he rather have? A scantily dressed attractive female or several `dressed` lamb chops?Robert

[Mica_Hiebert]

costco case of toilet paper! ill figure out the rest...

[waksupi]

Priorities change. We used to do hunt or starve trips. On the first night, everyone was missing their sweetie. By the end of the third night, they were missing an egg sandwich.

[Geezer in NH]

Rum!!!!!!!!

[dakotashooter2]

Ever notice how poorly most so called "survival experts" do on reality shows ?

[legend 550]

Hell if I've got food, shelter, beer, TV and a cute little sweetie with the hots for me I DON'T WANT RESCUED.

[RogerDat]

There were these books called choose your own adventure where at certain points you were asked to make a choice and go to the page number for your choice to continue your "adventure". Man was I pissed when one of the kids came and said I did what you said and the book said I died. What I had told them after that plane crash in the Andes where the soccer team ended up eating their dead was that those guys screwed up by thinking they knew where they were (when they were just guessing) then from that they decided which way to go (over the mountain) when they could not get past a point and turned down hill they found a valley followed a stream downhill until they came to some shepherds and were rescued. My guide line for them was you go down hill toward a stream then down stream until you get to river, then down river. Unless you know for a fact that this water course does not lead toward people. People live on rivers, they travel on them, they come to them for hunting and fishing.

Book decided you went upstream you came to a village and were saved, downstream you starved. I'm like if folks built a village upstream then folks will be living downstream too.

I also stressed shelter, water, signal, food, fuel. Told them of the guy who survived almost 2 weeks after a small plane crash with both legs broken. He took a curved piece of windshield and dragged it out to rest on a rock where it would reflect, dragged himself back to a fallen log next to a small creek and pulled a lot of leaves into a nest and some branches over to cover and hold them. Ate bugs he found under the bark for his only food, but he could get to water with minimal effort, preserved his body heat and prayed a bit. Private plane saw the windshield flashing as it rocked in the wind, came to investigate and saw the plane crashed in the trees.

Best tool known to man is his brain but some folks don't keep their tools all that sharp or practice using them much.

[MT Gianni]

If you are on an island it is no longer deserted. Truth is most small islands are nothing but rock. So you might try to catch a fish or a bird but you are in for a long slow death or a fast one. The Castaway movie showed him having a ton of treasures and he probably lost the weight in 6 months rather than 4 years.

[abunaitoo]

Those TV survival shows are jokes.
People who are on them are just doing it for the money or to be on TV.
Hate to say it, but the ones who are the worse at it, are those who have military background.
I would think they would have been the best at it.
I wonder if most of them do so poorly, is because they know it's only for a short time.
I know one thing though, I wouldn't take a cell phone over a good machete.

[KYCaster]

Mary Ann!

[KYCaster]

NO! WAIT!........

I meant Ginger!!!

[fouronesix]

Rum!!!!!!!!

ARRR, thatn be Capn' Jack Sparra! :)

Seriously, the "ask the average idiot on the street" quizzes are a little scary.
Surprised that obvious absolutes like water aren't mentioned more often.

[Mk42gunner]

Drinkable water, shelter, food. Then worry about a signaling device. Tools would be pretty high on the priority list; knife, axe or machete depending on the climate.

Fish hooks and line would be nice to have, a net or something to build a fish trap out of would probably be better. Let's face it in a for real survival situation, game laws will be out the window. This doesn't mean you need to wantonly waste anything, but a fish trap is a heck of a lot more energy efficient than sitting with a pole and line in hand.

A way to make fire, if bamboo grows there, a machete will take care of that.

Robert

[Bad Water Bill]

Water then some nice rocks.

Rocks have been used forever to provide sharp edges to solve the rest of your needs.

[white eagle]

Rum!!!!!!!!

now there is a thinking man [smilie=w:

[Win94ae]

Rum!!!!!!!!

Then I'll assume you'll not want Elizabeth Swann to accompany you.

[Doggonekid]

Definitely I would want Elizabeth Swann standing in the door way of a Cabella's department store with Bill Gate's charge card. (and some rum!)

[10x]

costco case of toilet paper! ill figure out the rest...

Toilet paper is civilization.

[Hickok]

A Kabar.

A little knife can do some things good, a Kabar can everything good!!!

[Hickok]

I don't always carry a big knife, but when I do...Kabar!154816154817

[Brasso]

The reason the military people don't do very good is they are used to having the greatest logistics system in the world.

[quilbilly]

If the island is volcanic with obsidian, that takes care of the knife. Next is a tin can and a sheet of black plastic.