| Author | Message | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 789 Registered: 11-2008 |
Remember this advice - it may save your life one day. Don't do what is obvious, as it would kill you in the long run. Don't be afraid to do something which might seem disgusting. And, don't forget - never lose hope. Early spoylers please e-mail :-)) | ||
| Logician (Logician)
New member Username: Logician Post Number: 585 Registered: 6-2003 |
...in case we ever find ourselves in one of the Saw films? On a more serious level, I'll try and formalise the statement. Are the following statements/clauses accurate: If we come across a certain situation, there are two (only two?) options available to us: an obvious one and a disgusting one. Doing the obvious one would end up in our death. Doing the disgusting one would not end up in our death. Or, at least, it would make it more likely that we would survive / less likely that we would die. From doing the "obvious" thing to death, how long would it be: a minute? hour? day? week? month? year? longer? Does the "never lose hope" part imply that, during the process, we would have to wait a long time? A long time before knowing whether or not we would die from our decision? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 792 Registered: 11-2008 |
...in case we ever find ourselves in one of the Saw films? I am afraid not :-)) On a more serious level, I'll try and formalise the statement. Are the following statements/clauses accurate: If we come across a certain situation, there are two (only two?) good question! see below options available to us: an obvious one and a disgusting one. In fact, I can think of three more options. If you use two of them, you would die. The third one could save you but it is very unlikely. So we'd better stick to our two initial options. Doing the obvious one would end up in our death. Yes Doing the disgusting one would not end up in our death. It does not guarantee that you will not die at all but it does guarantee that you will not die for a certain reason Or, at least, it would make it more likely that we would survive I think this is closest / less likely that we would die. From doing the "obvious" thing to death, how long would it be: a minute? hour? day? I'd say several days week? month? year? longer? Does the "never lose hope" part imply that, during the process, we would have to wait a long time? Partly A long time before knowing whether or not we would die from our decision? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 320 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is the cause of death in the first option: A virus? Bacteria? Murder? Gunshot? Stabbing? Hanging? Freezing? Suffocating? Drowning? A parasite? Having your body taken over by aliens =)? Blunt trauma to the head? Boredom? Suicide? A broken heart? Does the disgusting thing: Look gross? Taste gross? Feel gross? Sound gross? Smell gross? Is it disgusting for moral reasons rather than physical ones? Does it matter who is giving the advice here? If so, is it you? A fictional character? A historical figure? A current famous person? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 793 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is the cause of death in the first option: A virus? Bacteria? Murder? Gunshot? Stabbing? Hanging? Freezing? Suffocating? Drowning? A parasite? Having your body taken over by aliens =)? Blunt trauma to the head? Boredom? Suicide? A broken heart? Neither Does the disgusting thing: Look gross? Taste gross? This Feel gross? Sound gross? Smell gross? and perhaps this Is it disgusting for moral reasons rather than physical ones? I'd say both Does it matter who is giving the advice here? Yes If so, is it you? A fictional character? A historical figure? A current famous person? This, although this person died quite recently | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 2068 Registered: 1-2007 |
Is this advice written? spoken? sung? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 794 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is this advice written? Yesspoken? Yes sung? Not that I know of | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 323 Registered: 7-2009 |
Died quite recently...Ted Kennedy? Cause of death...is it something natural? Cancer? Stroke? Heart attack? Choking on food? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 795 Registered: 11-2008 |
Died quite recently...Ted Kennedy? No Cause of death...is it something natural? Yesish Cancer? Stroke? Heart attack? Choking on food? but neither of these I've been doing some research and it seems that if you combine the obvious and the disgusting, it might keep you safely alive for some time. But if you do JUST the obvious, it would kill you, as I said above | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4034 Registered: 12-2000 |
Anything to do with swine flu? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 796 Registered: 11-2008 |
Anything to do with swine flu? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 325 Registered: 7-2009 |
starvation? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 800 Registered: 11-2008 |
starvation? No | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4039 Registered: 12-2000 |
dehydration? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4040 Registered: 12-2000 |
Don't eat snow to hydrate yourself when lost in the snow, but drink your urine instead? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4041 Registered: 12-2000 |
Don't give up hope - keep moving, don't give up, settle down and suffer from hypothermia. | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 803 Registered: 11-2008 |
Don't eat snow to hydrate yourself when lost in the snow, but drink your urine instead? Yuck, no :-)) Don't give up hope - keep moving, don't give up, settle down and suffer from hypothermia. No | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 804 Registered: 11-2008 |
dehydration? Yes | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 4042 Registered: 12-2000 |
Don't drink sea water? (Actually, the thing about not 'drinking' snow is that you would never be able to get enough of it, but I was only guessing about the urine) | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 327 Registered: 7-2009 |
(I think urine will keep you alive for several days -- you hear about it in earthquakes and such -- but you will eventually get dehydrated over a longer period of time) So doing the obvious thing will eventually cause you to die from dehydration? But it's "obvious" because at first it seems like it will keep you hydrated? Or it seems like it will get you to water faster? Is wandering around in the desert relevant? Athletics? Physical exertion? Being lost at sea? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 806 Registered: 11-2008 |
Don't drink sea water? Yes, exactly (Actually, the thing about not 'drinking' snow is that you would never be able to get enough of it, but I was only guessing about the urine) (I think urine will keep you alive for several days -- you hear about it in earthquakes and such -- but you will eventually get dehydrated over a longer period of time) I guess that's correct; it definitely holds for sea water So doing the obvious thing will eventually cause you to die from dehydration? Yes But it's "obvious" because at first it seems like it will keep you hydrated? Yes Or it seems like it will get you to water faster? We can say yes, too Is wandering around in the desert relevant? No Athletics? No Physical exertion? No Being lost at sea? Yes | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 330 Registered: 7-2009 |
So does the disgusting thing involve eating something gross? A raw animal? Seaweed? Drinking something gross? Drinking some animal's blood? Collecting dew in a gross way? Removing salt from sea water in a gross way? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 816 Registered: 11-2008 |
So does the disgusting thing involve eating something gross? No A raw animal? Do explore this Seaweed? No Drinking something gross? Yes Drinking some animal's blood? Yesish Collecting dew in a gross way? No Removing salt from sea water in a gross way? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 333 Registered: 7-2009 |
Ew. Not quite blood. Hmm. Drinking other fluids from an animal? Such as the fluid in an eye (yuck!!)? Not urine, right? Some other body fluid I haven't thought of? Or is it fluid from some animal that doesn't really have blood? Like a sponge? Or a jellyfish? A cooked animal? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 821 Registered: 11-2008 |
Ew. Quite right. Not quite blood. The answer was "yesish" :-)) Hmm. Drinking other fluids from an animal? Yes Such as the fluid in an eye Probably this would be a part of what you would be drinking(yuck!!)? I totally agree with you Not urine, right? Correct - that would be almost as dangerous as drinking sea water Some other body fluid I haven't thought of? Yes Or is it fluid from some animal that doesn't really have blood? Like a sponge? Or a jellyfish? Irrelevant A cooked animal? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 337 Registered: 7-2009 |
Ok, yesish to blood, then. Is it a component of blood? Plasma? (though I fail to see how you could separate out the plasma from the rest of the blood while you're lost at sea!) Or is it blood, but you're only yesishly drinking it? Are you using an IV? Is it a live animal, rather than a dead one? | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 338 Registered: 7-2009 |
And the person speaking: Adult? Male? Are they someone you'd usually associate with teh sea? (adventurer, sailor, navy, pirate, yacht racer etc.) diverOccupation relevant? If so [LTPF list of occupations]? Oh, does "yesish" blood mean it's blood AND other fluids? | ||
| Dropofahat (Dropofahat)
New member Username: Dropofahat Post Number: 335 Registered: 8-2009 |
Is the fluid from a fish? Is it spinal fluid? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 828 Registered: 11-2008 |
Ok, yesish to blood, then. Is it a component of blood? Yes, but not only this Plasma? Yes but not only this(though I fail to see how you could separate out the plasma from the rest of the blood while you're lost at sea!) You don't, in fact Or is it blood, but you're only yesishly drinking it? Are you using an IV? Is it a live animal, rather than a dead one? Neither And the person speaking: Adult? Male? Both Are they someone you'd usually associate with teh sea? (adventurer, sailor, navy, pirate, yacht racer etc.) diver No Occupation relevant? Yes If so [LTPF list of occupations]? Biologist, doctor, politician Oh, does "yesish" blood mean it's blood AND other fluids? bingo! Is the fluid from a fish? Yes Is it spinal fluid? Probably also this | ||
| Dropofahat (Dropofahat)
New member Username: Dropofahat Post Number: 337 Registered: 8-2009 |
Are we talking about wringing out (or squishing) a fish, and drinking whatever comes out? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 831 Registered: 11-2008 |
Are we talking about wringing out (or squishing) a fish, and drinking whatever comes out? Yes, exactly so. You are there. If you summarize the piece of advice given in the puzzle statement, I am going to spoyle. | ||
| Dropofahat (Dropofahat)
New member Username: Dropofahat Post Number: 344 Registered: 8-2009 |
"If you're stranded on the open sea, don't drink the sea water, as tempting as it is; try to catch a fish and squeeze whatever you can out of it. As disgusting as it is, it may save your life." | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 1334 Registered: 5-2003 |
Good one. In Men Against the Sea and other 'lost at sea' stories, it's noted that killing birds and drinking their blood was also an option, though since blood is a saline solution I wonder how effective it really was. | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 848 Registered: 11-2008 |
That's it, Dropofahat, and here goes the *****************SPOILER***************** Motto: "Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.“ Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge The advice in the puzzle statement was given by Alain Bombard (1924 – 2005), a French biologist, physician and later also politician. Bombard was shocked to learn that so many shipwrecked persons died on the ocean, and after carefully studying the subject, he found out that two main causes of their death were despair and dehydration. He studied the latter in depth and conceived a theory that it is possible to survive on the ocean until the rescue comes without any provisions at all, only on what the sea is able to provide to you. He knew it was dangerous to drink just salt water because it causes dehydration after some time (more water must be excreted to eliminate the salt via urine than the amount of water gained from drinking the seawater itself; moreover, the kidneys which regulate the amount of sodium chloride in human blood are unable to deal with such a concentration of it, water is drained from all cells and the person eventually dies.) However, he found out that fresh fish contain between 50% and 80% usable water which is salt-free. This would enable you to survive healthily for quite a long period, provided six or seven pounds (about 3 kilos) of fish could be caught, and the water squeezed from them (at the beginning, he cut them to pieces and wrung them in his shirt). You can even drink limited quantities of seawater provided you combine it with salt-free water. Although he was not a sailor and had little experience with navigation on the sea, he decided to test his theory on himself. On October 19, 1952, he went alone to the ocean, on an inflatable rubber lifeboat called L’Hérétique (The Heretic), which was only 4.5 meters long, with almost no provisions at all. He began his solitary trip across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands and reached Barbados on December 23, after 65 days and 4,400 kms of travel. He had lost 25 kg during the journey, was utterly exhausted but survived and proved his point. Bombard wrote several books about his journey, including “Naufragé Volontaire“, “The Voyage of the Heretique“ and “The Bombard Story “ Although his theory was questioned later by Dr Hannes Lindemann (who alleged that Bombard was cheating), no one proved that with certainty. Later, Dr Bombard became a Deputy in the European Parliament for the European Socialist Party. He died in Toulon, France in 2005 at age 80. Thank you all for participating. I find Bombard's story fascinating and just had to share :-)) |
