# Going old school



## Smack (May 25, 2016)

Check out this guy's survival skills and the clay/mud furnace he makes and what he makes in it.
http://www.wimp.com/how-to-build-a-hut-like-our-ancestors


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## Barren Realms 007 (May 25, 2016)

Wife keeps saying she could see herself staying in one of the tiny houses they build on DIY network. Wonder if I could build her one of these and see how she likes it.  

That guy has some patience. I wonder how long it actually took him to build that place?


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## pinman (May 25, 2016)

I love this guy! His site is awesome. 
https://primitivetechnology.wordpress.com
He says it took 102 days.


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## acpeacemaker (May 25, 2016)

I know of at least one person....lol.. :lol: . 
Pretty cool though


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 26, 2016)

That is a phenomenal video. I think that I have just found how I will build my son's playhouse.

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed it very much.

-toph


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## Grelko (May 26, 2016)

I've always liked this type of stuff.

Central heating and everything, very nice. You can also use pine tree boughs bundled together to make the roof, or add straw/dried grass to the clay, so that you wouldn't need to fire the home made bricks, just dry them out in the sun. They wouldn't hold up as long as a fired brick though. 

Using wood for the roof or walls could be put together fairly quick, as more of a temporary "hut" but his house is a nice permanant settlement. He might want to reinforce the walls and ceiling with some animal fur, or leather when it starts getting colder out.

Instead of the tree sap for the torch oil, you can use grease/drippings from animal fat also.

I bet his next meal would be something like acorn flour pancakes with fresh berries and some squirrel, sounds good. :mrgreen: 

I could talk about this all day haha.


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## jason_recliner (May 27, 2016)

Lot of work. So many good ideas. Ingeniously simple, if you will use your head.
Bush terracotta tiles and ducted heating, wow!
Just needs some sand for a silicon dioxide based glass skylight; it looks a bit dark in there.


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## UncleBenBen (May 27, 2016)

His videos bring back some great memories. I loved doing that kind of stuff. We never tried firing clay though, but still made some fairly impressive shelters. One of my favorite things I made in woods was an atlatl. That thing was neat. It would launch an 8' spear 100 yards without even trying and was surprisingly accurate for what it was.

I like what the guy is doing because it goes a step above survival. Being able to survive in the wild is a great skill and every body should know at least a little bit of it. He is doing what I always strove for, in that just surviving wasn't enough, I wanted to be able to live and to thrive out there. 

That would be what I would call living the dream! 8)


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 27, 2016)

Ben, are you like me and the wife... Where as, we watch naked and afraid and complain the whole time about how lazy and stupid they can be... 

And if only 42 minutes(about) is shown on tv... Then *WHAT* are they *really* doing the rest of the time...?


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## UncleBenBen (May 27, 2016)

Topher_osAUrus said:


> Ben, are you like me and the wife... Where as, we watch naked and afraid and complain the whole time about how lazy and stupid they can be...
> 
> And if only 42 minutes(about) is shown on tv... Then *WHAT* are they *really* doing the rest of the time...?




Hahaha! Topher, you just nailed it!!

Though I'm sure I would struggle a little at first in a new environment like a jungle, but I'd figure it out. I've been days on end in the woods without a real meal, but still ate. It's all the little stuff that keeps you going. Even the little seeds in stick-tights will keep you from starving. They are pretty good, too. taste like sunflower seeds. I rarely see any of those naked people grazing like they should be doing!

It's amazing the high you get after going without food for so long then getting a belly full of meat!


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## justinhcase (May 27, 2016)

When I was in my twenty's I went on a course in the Pennines. 
No choice of what to eat, Worm Omlet's for breakfast, rat kebabs ,which where quite tasty.
No fish was cooked for the hole week just served on raw seaweed .
They made sure We where so hunger we would eat any thing, a lot of which was unidentified and slimy.
We had a good feed after, the instructors put on a Venison pit roast.
I gorged my self to the point of popping.


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## UncleBenBen (May 27, 2016)

justinhcase said:


> No choice of what to eat, Worm Omlet's for breakfast, rat kebabs ,which where quite tasty.
> No fish was cooked for the hole week just served on raw seaweed .
> They made sure We where so hunger we would eat any thing, a lot of which was unidentified and slimy.



Rat is pretty good! Isn't it quite the humbling experience to see how your idea of 'edible' changes once you get to that point of hungry?!? :lol:


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 27, 2016)

UncleBenBen said:


> Hahaha! Topher, you just nailed it!!
> 
> Though I'm sure I would struggle a little at first in a new environment like a jungle, but I'd figure it out. I've been days on end in the woods without a real meal, but still ate. It's all the little stuff that keeps you going. Even the little seeds in stick-tights will keep you from starving. They are pretty good, too. taste like sunflower seeds. I rarely see any of those naked people grazing like they should be doing!
> 
> It's amazing the high you get after going without food for so long then getting a belly full of meat!



I read this reply, and eagerly started to peck away at my phone,...then grabbed my laptop so I could knock out this "epic-novel" of a reply...so, bear with me, or just skip it! :lol: 

I agree, to be thrown into a *very* inhospitable place would be *very* nerve-racking, and would certainly throw off my mind for a minute. But, without electricity, a phone, tv, or any other distractions besides not dying.. I think I would quickly realize that its "do or die" and that stuff needs to get down *right now!* while I still have energy from my Chicken and dumplings or double quarter pounder.. Me and the misses talk in detail, oft, of what we would do in each environment that is on an episode. 

It's always good to see them whenever they use what is around in an "outside the box" way...There is one episode I recall, where one of the 2 was poisoned by black sap from a tree, and the nekkid-woman, then found a plant growing very near by that was able to remedy his ailment.. Should she have not known of it, he would have been evacuated. Knowledge of your surroundings, and of horticulture / botany, as well as primitive survival skills (like those demonstrated in this great video) are something that everyone should know. Even if you live in LA, I believe it to be essential.

When I was 13, surivor was just airing. Me and a couple of friends thought it would be SO cool to go and do that, so 5 of us packed up a bookbag each, we all told our parents we were with one friend or the other, so all of us were "tended" to. We went to a river/dammed creek where we would sometimes go swim. The first night, two of them dipped out, 3 nights later 1 more, after a weeks time, it was just me and my good friend - the only two in the group that were raised up and taught to farm (garden), fish, cook, and build. 

I know I could survive almost anywhere without much at all. But, I do know, that there are a LOT of places, that would kill me in a day -*tops-.
I would most definitely want a machete, magnesium fire starter, fishing line or netting, seeds (plants), and CLOTHES... surviving naked would be aweful. 

If it was a venture that would be longer than 21 days, (and depending where I am, who I am with) I would of course get the essentials: Water, fire, shelter, food. Then I would start to make life switch from the survive to thrive. Like adding a pit beside my fire/kiln to make a hot tub! woot woot!

In all reality though, doing it behind a keyboard or tv screen is easy. To be thrown into the stressful situation first hand is difficult. Especially nowadays where I would have my family to worry about. (and whatever extenuating circumstances that lead us to the point of being out in the brush getting by)

-toph


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## UncleBenBen (May 27, 2016)

Topher_osAUrus said:


> while I still have energy from my Chicken and dumplings or double quarter pounder..



Haha! I've got a lot more calories on reserve nowadays than I did back when I would spend weeks and months at a time out in the woods.

But in the words of the incredible wealth of wisdom that is Homer J. Simpson......
"Fat? Ooh, I'm not fat, I'm just drought and famine resistant!"
:lol: :lol: :mrgreen:


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## Barren Realms 007 (May 27, 2016)

It's like the old saying of riding a bike. You never forget how to do it.

If you really have the passion to learn anything. Refining, construction, survival techniques or any other endevour you never really forget it. Once you step back into the situation it comes back to you naturally if you really cared about it.


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## UncleBenBen (May 27, 2016)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> It's like the old saying of riding a bike. You never forget how to do it.
> 
> If you really have the passion to learn anything. Refining, construction, survival techniques or any other endevour you never really forget it. Once you step back into the situation it comes back to you naturally if you really cared about it.



Very, very well put my man!!

It's that exact train of thought that I take a lot of comfort in. Especially when I get to thinking that this world is WAAAAY overdue for a major catastrophe.

Only thing that really worries me is the population explosion that has occurred in the last century, and the population shift into the cities. I worry that the whole zombie apocalypse thing may come to be. Only not mindless corpses eating people, but hungry people eating people because that's the only resource left.

Just think if everything ground to a halt for whatever reason. No more food coming in to the cities. Ever. The food supply would be gone in a week. Every rat, opossum, squirrel, deer, skunk, pet... for miles around, would be gone in a few more weeks. What does that leave as a source of meat? They say desperate times call for desperate measures and hunger will make people desperate.

It would mean billions of people being forced to live like animals, without the know-how and decency it takes to live, like an animal!

Phew, I'm starting to freak myself out. I'll leave it at that!


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## Grelko (May 27, 2016)

UncleBenBen said:


> What does that leave as a source of meat?



You would need to leave the city and head for the woods. Edit - Don't forget to find a source of clean water. Boil or use 1 of the many other ways to get it clean.

If it really came down to it, you don't need "meat", just protein, carbs and fats...actually not even carbs. You produce enough for your heart/brain to work and your body can run on fats and protein (same as a keto diet)[I've been a member over at bodybuilding.com for a couple years also ]. 

You could get enough from many different tree nuts, plants, insects, and of course fish or birds, if there's any left. 

Vitamin C is in pine needles etc, so you wouldn't need to worry about scurvy. Heck, you could basically live off the grass in your yard if you ate enough of it. If you get enough nutrients and calories, you should be ok.

Even in the middle of winter, there's enough food. You just need to know where to look.

It's just that so many people don't know how to find their own food in the wild (hopefully they atleast know how to cook), they are going to go crazy looking for a source of "meat", when it's actually the "protein" that the body needs, which is everywhere.

Example - dried pine nuts "according to the nutritiondata website"

100 grams

673 calories
68g fat
13g carbs
14g protein

Or even from the healthyeating website.

3.5 ounces of raw grass hoppers contains between 14 and 28 grams of protein.


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 28, 2016)

I dont think i could live without meat.

Hell, its half of my diet... Meat..potatoes...bread...cheese... 
Bout it..

Reading that post though made me think of some show my wife was watching...where a girl (vegan) said. "I dont know Britta, i think I'm done... I accidentally ate hamburger last week, and suddenly im not cold anymore"
Lol

Which reminded me of an old joke i once heard.
-how can you tell if a person is vegan?
-dont worry, they will tell YOU!


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## Barren Realms 007 (May 28, 2016)

UncleBenBen said:


> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> > It's like the old saying of riding a bike. You never forget how to do it.
> ...



Ahh you mean like Katrina and New Orleans?


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## UncleBenBen (May 28, 2016)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> Ahh you mean like Katrina and New Orleans?



I mean something like that. Only without the national guard eventually coming to "help".

More like a world wide deal that sends us back to the dark ages. Again.


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## Barren Realms 007 (May 29, 2016)

UncleBenBen said:


> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> > Ahh you mean like Katrina and New Orleans?
> ...



I don't feel a world wide deal will every happen, if it does then it will turn into a nightmare situation.


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## jason_recliner (May 29, 2016)

I also think it won't be a worldwide deal. Because for a greater portion of the world than many comprehend, this is already daily reality.


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 29, 2016)

UncleBenBen said:


> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> > Ahh you mean like Katrina and New Orleans?
> ...



What caused the dark ages?..
The destroying of knowledge by the crusades.

Greeks loved science, math, and to be able to explain everything around them.
Romans only cared how to get to the next place to rape and pillage.

Roman empire fell.
Then eventually, we got back on our feet.

Maybe its just me, but, i see a pattern.


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## Anonymous (May 29, 2016)

jason_recliner said:


> I also think it won't be a worldwide deal. Because for a greater portion of the world than many comprehend, this is already daily reality.



I couldn't agree more but when they are finally taught to stop breeding like rabbits, and actually listen to it then maybe the situation will change.


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## nickvc (May 30, 2016)

Topher_osAUrus said:


> UncleBenBen said:
> 
> 
> > Barren Realms 007 said:
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Your history is not quite correct.
The Roman Empire fell and then we had the so called dark ages, in truth things were worse for most people centuries later when the legacy of Rome and Greece had been forgotten but that only affected Northern Europe, the Byzantine empire carried on for another 900 years, the Islamic world then carried the knowledge of those earlier civilisations while we in Europe lived in filth and ignorance for many many centuries.
In truth civilisation only existed for the favoured few, the vast majority of people were either slaves or too poor to understand or access it.
We are in most cases very lucky now, we have education , health care , freedom to a large extent and access to vast amounts of knowledge, whether we use that wisely is another question.


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## Topher_osAUrus (May 30, 2016)

I was horrible at history, only commiting some things to memory.. I just recall the romans taking over, then falling. Then darkness... What caused the fall? Too much expansion?
What caused the dark ages? As i was under the impression it was the burning of books, (and stashing them) during the crusades.

So, in everyones mind here.. What is the definitive reason for civilization as we know it today?

The spreading and sharing of information?
The precision of measurements?
The control of electrons?

I actually had my mother in law ask me that recently. I went with all of the above.

Scientific progress and the sharing of information with others leading to discoveries that would "better" mankind. All of these things walking hand in hand together in great progression.


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## scrappappy (May 30, 2016)

Topher_osAUrus said:


> So, in everyones mind here.. What is the definitive reason for civilization as we know it today?
> 
> The spreading and sharing of information?
> The precision of measurements?
> ...


Interesting subject.. I went to a local aviation museum and they had a big mural on the wall showing the progression of civilization from the stone age up through modern times and you could see this exponential progress that started right around the time that engine powered aviation was introduced. It was really amazing to see a visual representation that has been made in the last hundred years or so and they attributed that in large part to aviation. IMO, that had mostly to do with the increased speed that information was shared and that increased exponentially again with the introduction of the internet. So my vote goes to the "sharing of information".
Just as an aside, I think our next step in our evolution is learning how to filter out the misinformation.


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## justinhcase (May 31, 2016)

Can I recommend a very good book to you.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. It is a 1997 transdisciplinary non-fiction book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1998, it won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book.
It is the most cogent overview on the subject I have ever come across.
And I found it very enjoyable.


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## UncleBenBen (Jun 17, 2017)

I've been laid up for a while with a staph infection in my heel and in my boredom of sitting with my foot propped up skimming through YouTube videos came across this. I thought it was pretty impressive. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qfyYJwZjYyY

She has another video where she makes a bow out of PVC and screen door springs. Where were girls like that when I was that age!?!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8B79bOJUc


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## Shark (Jun 17, 2017)

That first video brought back many memories of being a kid. I had a bow made from Dogwood and shot many an arrow made of cane. I would use hog rings and crimp finishing nails in for tips getting started and later switched to using fine wire to hold the tips and to wrap the fletching. Those were good times.


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## FrugalRefiner (Jun 17, 2017)

UncleBenBen said:


> Where were girls like that when I was that age!?!


In Cambodia.

Dave


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## UncleBenBen (Jun 18, 2017)

FrugalRefiner said:


> UncleBenBen said:
> 
> 
> > Where were girls like that when I was that age!?!
> ...



Haha! Well that explains a lot! :lol:


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## kurtak (Jun 20, 2017)

UncleBenBen said:


> FrugalRefiner said:
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> > UncleBenBen said:
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:lol: 

But actually you don't need to go all the way to Cambodia - we have them here in Wisconsin :mrgreen: 

Note the young girl in the top left pic of last years hunting regs --- a couple years ago the hunting regs also featured a pic of a young gal with her first buck

Locally I know several girls that hunt - including bow hunting 

Around here it is not uncommon for dads to take their daughters out in the woods & teach them just like the boys - one family I know has 5 girls & one boy - they ALL hunt 8)  

Kurt


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## Eu_citzen (Jun 20, 2017)

Grelko said:


> I've always liked this type of stuff.
> 
> Central heating and everything, very nice. You can also use pine tree boughs bundled together to make the roof, or add straw/dried grass to the clay, so that you wouldn't need to fire the home made bricks, just dry them out in the sun. They wouldn't hold up as long as a fired brick though.
> 
> ...



He did insulate the house using clay - a surprisingly good insulator! However, most often straw or something similar is added, also. It was used for a long time, even in Europe and probably the US to.

Look up "Wattle and daub" if you'd like to learn more.


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## justinhcase (Jun 20, 2017)

Eu_citzen said:


> Grelko said:
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> 
> > I've always liked this type of stuff.
> ...


We build a lot of "Cob" in Devon.
Lovley stuff!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cob_(material)


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## snoman701 (Jun 21, 2017)

Unfortunately, that guy built the foundation to my house. Also unfortunate is that we don't have any clay...just sand. Grrrr 42" Frost line and I've only got a 24" foundation.

Anyway, all any of you survivalists have to do is find my house and kill me off. I've got a smoker, you can preserve my protein that way....the property will keep you fed though. If it isn't edible or pretty, I won't plant it. The latter is mostly there because the previous owner of this house liked flowers, and I'm not going to kill off the beds. I haven't planted anything yet that's not edible, and I plan to keep it that way. 

I don't understand this countries fascination with giant lawns. Half of my yard (2 acres) is lawn, the other half is going back to prairie / woods. The half that is lawn is slowly turning in to garden space. I hate mowing and set the mower to the lowest setting to burn the grass. If I didn't care to have some form of respect from the neighbors, I'd just let it go. But, I'm already setting the whole yard up to manage itself...thickets, briars, jeruselum artichokes, etc...stuff that will limit itself, but still look reasonable.


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## anachronism (Jun 21, 2017)

Foundation? I thought you Americans lived in timber framed things


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## snoman701 (Jun 21, 2017)

anachronism said:


> Foundation? I thought you Americans lived in timber framed things



That was just when we were killing brits. Now that we've got that little issue under control we have time to put some roots in the ground.


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## anachronism (Jun 21, 2017)

snoman701 said:


> anachronism said:
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> 
> > Foundation? I thought you Americans lived in timber framed things
> ...



Ouch! A tad harsh old chap.


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## snoman701 (Jun 21, 2017)

anachronism said:


> snoman701 said:
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Awww...did ya spill yer tea? 

At least you can afford to go to the Dr.


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## Smack (Jun 22, 2017)

Wow


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## UncleBenBen (Jun 22, 2017)

Smack said:


> Wow



Agreed Smack!

Come on now. This was a fun little thread. I didn't bring it back up to see stones getting thrown. A playful poke made in jest is one thing, the other, well, I guess is the other.

Back to it, did anyone get to make their own arrows out of what my grandfather called an arrowwood tree? I've looked it up and the name brings up something else, so I don't know what the real name of the tree is. We had two of them on our property and I don't know if I've ever seen anymore like them.

They only grew about 15 foot high, and every year the branches would put out sturdy, woody shoots that were arrow straight. About a half inch at the the base, tapered down to around a quarter inch at three feet. All fairly uniform. We would cut them off, skin the thin bark and bind them with wet rawhide and let them dry. They made perfect arrow shafts.

I wish I still had some of the ones I made back then.


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## justinhcase (Jun 23, 2017)

We use hazel for traditional shafts.
we use a board with a groove running down it's length for the shaft to sit in. Then use a SHARP plane set very fine to reduce the thick end down to what you want. Once the thick end is tapered into the point you have a barrelled arrow, which fly great.


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## Fireflymetals (Jun 23, 2017)

I wanted to respond to this earlier, but laid up from the last surgery (#15 in this lovely year O'mine) and figured I would wait til I was not so dopey on pain meds.

So, don't watch some of those shows, sounds like they would drive me nutty, I do watch the youtubers mentioned though... good stuff.

With all that said, my reason for posting.

While doing my time in the Army, I did a few survival schools, Sere, and Arctic Warrior... All told I thought I was down with the survival skills.

Then I got separated from my unit for a week.

I had water treatment and 3 rat bars on me. (along with some pogey bait but yeah). I also had a water treatment kit.

Hit day 6 and I am bloody hungry... Like kill the nearest local and go cannibal kind of hungry (I was also running a lot and trying to avoid the locals who were probably not happy with us being there). Long story short. I managed to take down a seagull with a rock.

Which I ate...

Raw....

No in retrospect it was frigging nasty, oily gross bleh.

At the time I did not notice the flavor, til about 2 hours later when I had the taste of flying rat in my mouth that would not go away.

When you get that hungry, you would be amazed what you can choke down.

Now a days, I know how to survive.. But I prefer surviving in my house... just the trials of Kids and Dogs to persevere through...

--L


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## everydayisalesson (Jun 23, 2017)

Kids and dogs can be real killers. 

Mike


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## UncleBenBen (Jun 23, 2017)

Fireflymetals said:


> When you get that hungry, you would be amazed what you can choke down.
> --L



Ain't that the truth!!


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## snoman701 (Jun 23, 2017)

UncleBenBen said:


> Smack said:
> 
> 
> > Wow
> ...



That was all in jest on my part...all the brits that I've known previously have a sense of humor that is dry and dark, in comparison to American humor which tends to be slimey and perverse. Sorry if those were taken personally, not intended in the least.


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## anachronism (Jun 23, 2017)

I didn't take it personally. 

If you understand Brits then you can imagine one saying "that's a tad harsh old chap" with a wry grin on his face. 8) 

As you say our humour is dark and dry and in complete contrast to the average American humour which is about as deep as evaporating puddle. Oh on that topic I'm sure that the word irony isn't even IN the American dictionary. That given Sno, I know quite a few Americans who prefer the Brit humour over their own. 

We're cool. Us Brits can take it. 8)


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## Smack (Jun 23, 2017)

snoman701 said:


> UncleBenBen said:
> 
> 
> > Smack said:
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I knew it was, that was just my reaction. Guess I should have put lol after wow.


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## snoman701 (Jun 23, 2017)

anachronism said:


> I didn't take it personally.
> 
> If you understand Brits then you can imagine one saying "that's a tad harsh old chap" with a wry grin on his face. 8)
> 
> ...



British humour assumes one is moderately educated and doesn't ACTUALLY think they are the center of the universe, just acts like it. Thus one can understand why American's may not get it.


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## anachronism (Jun 23, 2017)

snoman701 said:


> anachronism said:
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> > I didn't take it personally.
> ...



Haha. So you "insult" the Brits and in the next post "insult" the Americans too. That's consistency. :lol: 

ps That's a good insight to Brit humour.


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## snoman701 (Jun 23, 2017)

anachronism said:


> snoman701 said:
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> > anachronism said:
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I'd love to keep posting, but the post that I just wrote would have ended this thread. I've had a rough week.


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## Tndavid (Jun 26, 2017)

Anyone ever tried open fire roasted grub worms? Oh my  

Edit to fix face.


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## UncleBenBen (Jun 26, 2017)

Tndavid said:


> Anyone ever tried open fire roasted grub worms? Oh my
> 
> Edit to fix face.




Haha! Not yet! I came close once, but opted for scrounging up some crawdaddies instead.

Is it true they taste nothing like chicken? :mrgreen:


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## rickbb (Jun 27, 2017)

I went to a survival school once. 

At the end the instructors wanted to know what we all ate and why wasn't I hungry. I said, I went to the quickie mart just the other side of the woods and got hot dogs and sodas. And that they should put the school a litter further out next time. :lol:


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